Broken Things Shine Brighter
by yastaghr
Summary: Hello Dearie, If you've found this note, you've probably found my friend with it. He's been hurt a lot, and he isn't getting better here. If you can't help him, or if this isn't your handwriting, please pass him on to the nearest Muffet. She'll know what to do. Thank you so much, dearie, and I hope your life will go better than mine. Cordially, Muffet P.S. His name is Sans
1. Chapter 1

Sans dragged his body behind the flimsy, half-destroyed wall that lay in that weird section of Hotland just before Muffet's home. He couldn't remember what this section had been remodeled for. It was clearly from before The Human. It offered no security, no camouflage, no warmth. Just like his clothing, really. It, too, had been in place since before The Human had come, and it showed.

Of course, all of the holes, stains, and greasy patches paled before the most recent damage. At least a third of his shirt was already bright red. Giant holes that still smouldered at the edges showed equally giant holes through his ribcage, two overlapping on his left side and one low on his right. Another went through the left sleeve of his hoodie. A piece of bone was snarled in the fabric. His right shin was bruised even before he began dragging it through the dirt.

Sans would have considered himself lucky if he hadn't known that the Empress had sent her Hound after him. There had been two of them a few weeks ago; Lesser Dog had succumbed to his infected leg despite everything Sans had done. That left Dogamy, who had barely managed to keep from snapping Sans' neck ever since his SOULmate and wife, Dogaressa, had fallen at The Human's hands. The skeleton would see no MERCY from him.

It seemed so long since Sans had seen that action. Part of it, he knew, was his own horrible memory. It had been fine once. His brother had...Sans couldn't remember what he'd done. But Undyne had berated him for losing his memories of the time before The Human. It wasn't the only thing he'd lost, but no matter what he did in desperation-fueled insanity, nothing had fixed him. It. Them? He didn't even know anymore. He didn't know _anything_ anymore.

Well, that wasn't quite true. He knew he was going to die. He could see it in the dull shine of the axe that came through the wall above him. He couldn't stop the whimper, even then.

His SOUL was pounding so fast it hurt. His nonexistent throat felt raw and ragged, like it has in the cold of…something. He couldn't remember what. It was dark and cold and lonely, whatever it was. The feeling overtook him, stealing his sight along with all the warmth of his SOUL. It didn't steal his hearing, though, and so he could hear the wooden wall breaking and still do nothing about it. His SOUL was just...so broken.

The snarl he expected to follow the axe never came. Instead, someone other than him whimpered. Little scurryings surrounded him. The considerable weight of a bigger monster than him (also known as most of them) made the floorboards wobble despite the ground they were laid on. Muffled curses became even more muffled. Something that struggled was dragged away. Then-

"Oh, dearies, don't forget the poor morsel she had him hunting. I'd just as soon not have dust all over our territory. It rather defeats the...what is this?"

Footsteps moved around the wall that hid him. A polite gasp broke the silence.

"Is that...? Dearie, can you hear me?"

A small hand lifted his skull off the floorboards. Another two patted his chest ever so gently. A fourth pressed some sort of fabric to the cracks in his cervical vertebrae, as if any amount of compresses would mop up the blood still seeping out of him.

He tried to verbalize, not really knowing what he would say when he did. Either a very sick goat (why did that make him wince?) was yodeling through the other end of a badly-carved didgeridoo, or his vocal cords had been damaged when the Empress lost her patience for him yet again over lunch.

The unseen Muffet, a monster he could only remember because of Undyne's constant rants about her untouchable little 'territory', sighed.

"I am so sorry to do this, dearie, but I need to know something, and this is the only I can learn."

That was the only warning he got before a fifth hand lifted his shirt enough for the sixth and final hand to snatch his SOUL out of his chest.

* * *

_Muffet floated in darkness partially lit by a purple glow. She thanked the Stars that her own SOUL shone so brightly. Even a spider's eyes could not pierce this gloom. _

_She moved forward. It was the only direction in a place like this. Nothing made a fairly poor navigational marker. But nothing could only last so long before it gave in and became something. She just had to PERSEVERE._

_After some time, although not nearly as much as she would have thought, her purple glow was met with a deep blue one. A few steps further and she saw it. A handful of dim fragments of an inverted heart shivered before her. They were all sorts of colors - yellow, indigo, red, orange, blue, silver; no two were the same shade. Several threads of purple magic dangled from half-remaining seams. It was horrible to look at. It was even worse to know that that mangled soul had once been a person._

_The spider-girl closed her eyes and let her soul stretch. Purple lines spread out around her. The magic encircled her and Sans' soul. It cocooned the broken blue glow, hiding it in careful safety from everything that might hurt it. Then she gave it the order and it began the long job of stitching the mess back together._


	2. Chapter 2

Muffet stood in front of a decision. In reality it was merely a machine with a sleeping skeleton in it, but in her SOUL it was far more than that. In his SOUL, too, but she knew better now than to let Sans have a say in this choice. He would not consider himself when he answered, and it was for his sake, not hers, that she must make it.

It had been weeks since she had rescued a broken skeleton from the Empress' Hound. It felt like it had been both longer and shorter than that. Longer, because the strain on her SOUL felt like the accumulation of years. Shorter, because in all that time Sans had healed hardly at all.

She'd thought that with good food and rest his body, at least, might have recovered. It had not. The wounds still leaked every time she changed the bandages, and his voice was all but gone. She hadn't been able to find a book on skeleton physiology, but she doubted it would help. Nothing would heal as long as there was still that much damage to his SOUL.

Muffet cursed with a repetition-born mechanicality the human who had so utterly broken their world. She, perhaps out of all the monsters in the Underground, had suffered the least damage at their hands. They had been so scared of her spiders, but then that telegram had come through, and there was also evidence of their donut. She had let them go without much fight, only to learn later what all else they had done.

Having Sans near her was comforting after the aggression and disgust most other monsters had turned on her since The Human had come. Her spiders were wonderful, the kindest creatures she had ever known, but Sans was… not a spider. He was taller. He spoke a different language that was as much her own as Spiderspek was. He was a completely separate creature from her. He did things she didn't anticipate.

Those things included waking her up at all hours of the night with screams and whimpers. They included fixing a hole in her favorite apron that she hadn't even noticed. They included having a panic attack when she tried to get him to shower, and another whenever she turned on music. They included cuddling with the spiderlings for an entire day while she dealt with another...incursion. They included forgetting how to control his magic halfway through helping her reorganise her long-neglected storage and nearly breaking his own skull.

If she did this, she knew he would eventually find a place where he could recover, really, truly, and without the life sentence of isolation and eventual death staying here would mean. But if she did, she would be alone again.

If she didn't, he'd stay. Maybe he'd get better, maybe not. But the spiders would have a new monster to lighten their lives. She'd have a friend, a monster friend, for the first time that she could remember. And who knew how long their species would survive in any case? With the way Empress Undyne ran things, they'd probably be dead long before the next human fell.

Muffet sighed. She knew what she had to do, even if it would hurt her to do it. It was why she had given Sans just a smidgen of a sleeping drug in his Spider Cider that night.

With one last look at the skeleton whom her world had dealt so much damage to, she placed the note on his chest, closed the plexiglass door, and sent the final jolt of magic into the machine that would send it flying through the VOID and to its (hopefully) final destination.

* * *

The facade of nonchalance and disdain that Muffet wore vanished the moment she closed her basement door. One gloved hand came up to her face. She let it fall slowly as she sunk to the ground. The other five hands were already undoing her outfit.

First off were her gloves. They looked like ordinary enough gloves, although leather _was_ a rare commodity in the Underground, but any unwary monster who crossed her would find a nasty trick or two sewn into their seams. Of course, that was far from surprising in a world where FIGHTs really held up to their name.

The next thing off was her armour. It was layered metal covered in different colors and designs of lace, but it was still armour. It covered her front and back. It also was near impossible to remove without at least three working hands.

Next came her boots. The heels were sharpened, but in order to make the blade actually usable her spiders had had to increase the length so much that wearing them too long at a time hurt her feet. She had several other, more practical shoes, designed for comfort and traction in icy conditions. This pair was reserved for state visits. So was the armour.

As much as Muffet appreciated Toriel's strength as a leader and her dress sense, she despised her morals and personality even more. The only reason that she even consented to deal with the Queen was for her spiders. It would be so easy for the Queen to villanise them as the humans had done. Muffet prefered not to subject the Underground to the subsequent war. The poor dearies didn't deserve to be slaughtered over something as simple as a dress.

It was while Muffet was contemplating which "accidental" design flaw to insert this time that Harold approached her. She held back a sigh. He couldn't help that he was getting old. That was why she had assigned him to house guard duty. It was rare for any trouble to reach this far.

But it seemed some trouble had, "A machine? Not one of Undyne's, I hope...no? Really?," Her tone of voice shifted from mildly patronizing to true interest and worry, "Do you think he was messing with it again? After last time, you'd think he'd- never mind. Which room did you say?"

Muffet stood, leaving her shoes on the landing as she practically free-fell down the staircase. Her small, stockinged feet flew down the corridors of a complex far bigger than her Queen was aware of. It was less than three minutes before she reached the crash site. It was a mercy that the room was currently empty storage.

Inside the room sat a machine significantly smaller than the almost identical one sitting in yet another corner of her extended basement. 'Sat' might not be the best choice of words. It wasn't moving, but it also wasn't oriented the way it was intended to. It was, in fact, upside down.

Other than the size, the charred paint, and the orientation, it was identical to the old Royal Scientist's greatest invention. Given that, Muffet had a fair suspicion about who might be inside. But when she opened the door, the condition of the occupant almost made her doubt it.

"Oh, dearie, who did this to you?"

She'd honestly thought it would be Papyrus' form she found inside. Instead, she was faced with Sans - her fierce, cunning Sans. But it was a Sans warped by a cruel mirror. His bones were far too thin and far too yellow- at least, from what she could see around the dirt and bandages. Bloody bandages. Spider silk bandages.

With a feeling of inevitability Muffet picked up the note on this stranger of a Sans' chest. She noted the handwriting was similar to hers, if a bit smaller than she prefered to write. She scanned it quickly before folding it neatly and tucking it into her bra. Her formal outfit was, sadly, without pockets. Then she carefully picked up the sleeping skeleton and set off towards her two favorite monsters' basement door.

_**Hello Dearie,**_

_**If you've found this note, you've probably found my friend with it. He's been hurt a lot, and he isn't getting better here. If you can't help him, or if this isn't your handwriting, please pass him on to the nearest Muffet. She'll know what to do. Thank you so much, dearie, and I hope your life will go better than mine. **_

_**Cordially, **_

_**Muffet**_

_**P.S. His name is Sans, and his favorite food is ketchup.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Papyrus couldn't help but grin from his position slouching against the upstairs railing. His brother was positively roasting the poor monster on today's illicit broadcast of Cooking Nightmares with a Killer Robot. Sans, with his crimson gloves, matte black armour, and scarred skull, was positively obsessed with the show.

Even he had to admit that there was something viscerally pleasing in watching Napstaton rail at the pathetic excuses for restauranteurs that made the poor decision to be featured on his show. They always deserved it, and it wasn't even as though the robot yelled at _everyone_ who showed up. No, that pleasure was reserved for the assholes who didn't listen, or who just didn't get that they were horrible.

Food was serious business. Poisoning people was technically illegal, and doing it by accident was just...stupid. Everyone knew they were running short of monsters and food. Why waste anything if you could prevent it?

"MUTT."

Papyrus blew a smoke ring across the open expanse of the living room.

"hmm?"

"I DID NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO SMOKE IN THE HOUSE. GO OUTSIDE OR PUT IT OUT."

Papyrus sighed. It had been nice while it lasted. He dropped the cigarette into the Void.

"GOOD BOY."

"Sans, what did I tell you about treating your brother like a dog?"

The air in the room hardened, but not much. It was the hardening of cream into butter, rather than the hardening of dough into three-day old bread loaves. It was only enough to be noticed by those who were looking for it, but it vanished before anyone could react to it.

"NOT TO," Sans voice completely lacked shame. It could even be called smug.

"And what are you doing?"

"WATCHING NAPSTABLOOK MELT A LEAD FRYER DOWN FOR SCRAPS."

Muffet sighed, although there was hardly any emotion in it; she'd known them for too long to be surprised.

"One of these days you won't have a flippant reply ready, dearie."

Sans picked up his glass of wine and took a sip. The alcohol was a luxury they couldn't do without. Safe drinking water carried nearly fifteen times the price.

"YES, AND ONE OF THESE DAYS THE QUEEN WILL HAND OUT FREE WATER."

Papyrus decided he might as well come downstairs at this point. If he didn't, he knew the two of them would keep at it until they'd both forgotten the bundle of rags Muffet had brought up from the basement.

"what'd'ya bring us, muffler?"

She gave him the half-hearted scowl that old nickname deserved. Considering he'd been six when he'd first said it, Papyrus thought it was pretty good.

"A conundrum. Help me get him on the couch."

The skeleton brothers had already taken the bundle from her arms and laid it out flat when the word struck them.

"HIM?"

Muffet's hand waved them off. Sans was already scowling when she pushed past him and began undoing the knots of fabric. Papyrus had summoned a Blaster with as much surreptition as he could muster.

The skull dissolved when a lifted rag revealed a skeletal face. It was small, but even he would admit he knew who it looked like.

"A machine like yours crash landed into storage, 'pyrus. Smaller, upside-down, but intact. This was inside - on his chest."

Sans' eye lights were scanning the letter before she'd even let go.

"HMPH. HARDLY A HELPFUL DESCRIPTION."

The feeling of five eyes rolling in sync is so much more pervasive than two would be.

"If you do your job right the poor thing will be able to tell us more himself. Get the first aid kit. There's too much squelch to this blanket for my liking. Sans, run interference. The queen just ordered _another_ dress, gods know why, so I'll 'steal' your brother again."

"SHE NEVER EVEN WEARS THEM. I'VE SEEN HER CLOSET," Sans tossed the comment over his shoulder as he stalked his way over to the 'official' phone line.

"Oh? Isn't it considered bad taste to kiss and tell?"

Papyrus spluttered and tripped on his way up the stairs. He never got used to their more risque banter.

"AND HERE I THOUGHT KISSING REQUIRED LIPS."

Muffet's titter cut off mid hee. Both brothers stopped moving. They crouched in almost an identical manner. Amber magic dripped like smoke from atop the stairs; shadowed-garnet magic fizzled from the kitchen floor. The barest outlines of bones hung in the air. Some threatened the windows and doorways. Others surrounded the couch's occupant.

Muffet's thin voice barely rose above the magics' roar, "Papyrus?"

He fought to keep the shadows out of his voice, "yes?"

"Bring the plaster kit and extra splints."

* * *

An hour or so passed. Phone calls were made, skeletons were shouted at, and blood flowed. Muffet hated to admit it, but there was no ignoring the obvious any longer.

"We need more congelants. Papyrus-"

"NO."

The spider gave Sans a disappointed look.

"Yes. You will run out of bandages before this...other Sans stops bleeding."

Sans growled, "THEN LET HIM! WE DON'T EVEN KNEW HIM! WHY SHOULD WE HELP SOMEONE WE DON'T KNOW? NO ONE ELSE DID!"

Sans looked absolutely furious. Magic crackled around his skull. If his shirt wasn't black and fireproof already, singe marks would be decorating it now. Muffet didn't bother to react. She continued constructing the framework of splinters and splints that would hopefully be a ribcage again, someday. She knew what would happen next.

"she did, bro."

There it was. Was it even a surprise when they devolved into this anymore?

"WE DIDN'T NEED HER TO! WE WERE FINE ON OUR OWN!"

Papyrus sighed. He let the blood-soaked rag in his hand plop into the bloody vodka. He was sick of this argument, too.

"bro, you can't get angry at people for not helping and then refuse to admit you needed help in the first place. we've talked about this."

If Muffet didn't know any better, she'd say Sans was pouting. But she did know better, so she'd have to call it Evil Pouting™.

"bro, come on. i won't even be there 15 minutes. 'dyne isn't gonna-"

"DON'T BE STUPID. SHE SPLIT YOUR MAXILLA. I WON'T GIVE HER THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT AGAIN."

Muffet split the silence with a suggestion she knew would be refused, "You could go ask Alphys. I'm sure she'd love to help her most pathetic trainee."

Both brothers glared at her. She let her smile bend just enough to slip under their non-existent skin. Sans scoffed and turned his attention to a stain on the carpet. Papyrus snuck a look at his brother before returning his glare to her.

"No? But I thought she told you to rely on her for anything."

The growl was about as loud as Muffet expected. She couldn't quite make out the words Sans muttered under his breath, but she could guess. Swearing was highly likely.

"Then the labs it is. Try not to get yourself killed, Papyrus dear. It might be a tad bit hard to collect your dust."

Papyrus saluted her, middle finger firmly extended. She grinned back.

Sans voice was barely audible when he said, "PLEASE BE SAFE."

Papyrus' whole expression softened when he looked at his brother. Muffet's, in turn, softened when she saw that. She hated making them angry, but sometimes there was no other choice.

"welp. guess i'm going to see a fish. see you soon, bro. muffler."

He didn't give them a moment to reply before he was gone. Rude.


	4. Chapter 4

Papyrus had been silent. He knew he had been silent. He'd avoided every tripwire, every motion detector, and every squeaky door. So how was it that Undyne was waiting for him at the door to supply room #108?

"What did you do this time, Papyrus? Trip down the stairs and snap your collarbone? Trip off the dock and lose a toe? Trip over your morals and slice your integrity in half?"

Papyrus hid his wince under a shrug. His friend (even if they were legally supposed to be trying to kill one another at the moment) was clearly getting sick of his go to lie for things like this. Tripping wasn't _that_ common occurrence, after all. But he thought she would let him get away with it just a little bit longer. Apparently not.

"would'ja believe me if I said it wasn't for me?"

Undyne's mind quickly jumped to a conclusion.

"What did that maggot-colored, glue-stick carrying, goodie two-shoes of a monster do to your brother now?"

The insult was spoken with a complete lack of interest. Papyrus wondered whether the piscine scientist was coming up on her heat cycle. He always had a hard time with complex emotional games when his was happening.

"alphys taught him about muffins yesterday, although i think the recipe she was using is more commonly used as cake batter."

He smiled hopefully. It would be really nice to see his best friend able to forgive the Captain. He knew getting along would be a much harder journey, but forgiveness? He thought he could manage to bring about forgiveness if he tried.

Undyne did not look like forgiveness was in the cards for today. She did, in fact, look pissed.

"You tell me what's happening or I'll inject you with fire ants. I hear they're very painful. Extremely, even.

Papyrus gulped. He'd had fire ants fall into his eye sockets once. He'd not like to repeat the experiment.

"a copy of our dimension hopper crash landed in the basement. There was a smaller version of my brother inside. he looked like he'd barely come out of one of her majesty's "tea parties" with his life. we got my brother to agree to helping the poor guy, but he just won't stop bleeding."

Undyne's eyebrows had stayed down though most of the spiel, but right at the end they shot up in horror before the reaction was quickly repressed. But she did turn around and unlock the triple wards and a new deadbolt Papyrus hadn't seen before. She then turned her back to the door and pointedly ignored him. Overjoyed at his friend's sympathy and generosity, Papyrus slipped into the storage room with a grin.

That grin quickly evaporated when he saw just how little supplies were in the room. Almost every shelf had been emptied completely. There were maybe five boxes in the entire room. He could still remember the days when it was so full a clumsy person couldn't walk around without bumping five or six boxes off the shelves. He could remember _filling _these boxes; not long ago there was a platoon of interns who did nothing else.

But then Her Majesty, filled with the wisdom of a broken toothpick, had declared that any monster with less than 80,000G to their name was to be hunted down, dusted, and their possessions brought to her to be stored up for the day that whatever remained of their dying population would follow her up through the Barrier to the Surface.

About a third of their population was that poor. Sentries and interns were especially hard hit. A few survived, as Papyrus and Sans had, by combining households. But when the guards arrived at doors across the Underground, they found houses empty and monsters gone.

The Royal Scientist, just elected and extremely young, had taken one look at the order and rebelled. Undyne had taken almost two hundred monsters under her care. Most were old. Some were children. All were desperate. All fled into the True Lab while Undyne locked the doors.

As the weeks went by, many Fell Down from the cramped conditions, sparse food, and lack of hope. In desperation Undyne tried to bring them back. The Amalgamations were the result. Few monsters outside the Lab knew of them.

Papyrus and Sans we among these, for Papyrus had teleported food from Muffet into the Lab as soon as he could. Now the Spiders snuck through tunnels and ventilation shafts to bring fresh, healing food on a daily basis. Partly this was due to Undyne's fury at the brothers' refusal to leave the Queen's service. They refused to leave either population, the Queen's or the Scientist's, without a method to communicate with the other.

This empty storeroom made it clear to Papyrus that he needed to get more medicinal ingredients "dropped" into the Scientist's domain. Muffet had plenty; her spiders did not have the knowledge and ability to combine them. Then maybe Undyne would be less acerbic the next time he needed medical supplies.

He grabbed two of the congealants he needed and teleported out.

When he arrives back home it's to a pair of empty sockets lined in blood. Not his brother's, although that little detail escaped him. Their guest looked close enough for his imagination to spiral out of control.

Papyrus felt the tremors in his hands starting at the same time he noticed his phalanges clutching at his chest. His breathing was already faster. The sockets before him were starting to dissolve in static.

But before things got further than that he heard his brother's voice shout, "OH FOR THE STARS' SAKE-"

Muffet interrupted him. "Papyrus, what is seventeen to the thirty-second power?"

17^32? Well, 17^32 was the same as (17^2)^16. 17^2 was 17*17, or 289, which made 289^16, or (289^2)^8. Then 289^2 was 83,521, so you got (83,521^2)^4, and then 83,521^2 was 6.9757*10^9 ish. You put that in and you got (6.9757*10^9)^4, or 6.9757^4 * (10^9)^4, which became 2,367.831 * 10^36. Clean that up and you get 2.367*10^39.

About halfway through the calculation Papyrus recognized that his would-be panic attack was over. He finished the calculation anyway, though, because he knew firsthand how Muffet could get if he didn't. Also, you never knew when that kind of mental math might come in useful.

"Two point three-six-seven times ten to the thirty-ninth."

No one was looking at him. No one acknowledged his effort, not that he expected them to. They knew he could do it already, so why waste time listening. Even in here, the Underground's motto still rang true. He hated it.

Muffet was using the first bottle of Slime-be-made™ on the other Sans. It's mottled green soon showed on every inch of the foreign skeleton's neck and chest areas. After the most dangerous wounds were sealed (or at least beginning to seal) she dabbed a few splotches around the breaks in the arms and legs. The missing spans of bone would need to be regrown inch by painful inch. At least this time it wasn't him.

When the wounds were wrapped up to her meticulous satisfaction, Muffet sat up and let the obviously frail skeleton collapse on the couch. He still wasn't moving, but that was fine. Papyrus wasn't ready for his brother's double to be speaking yet. He could barely handle him existing; speaking would be too much.

Papyrus was just beginning to process what having their guest would mean.


	5. Chapter 5

When Sans opened his sockets he immediately felt lost. The ceiling looked wrong. Not wrong as in completely unknown, but wrong as in the ceiling looked exactly like the living room ceiling at his house, only flipped on a diagonal. Every mark was reversed. Every stain was in a different place than he remembered. His soul screamed that it was wrong.

Where was he, then? It wasn't his house, that was certain. And, from what he could remember, it wasn't the Empress' palace. Nor was it her old house. He didn't think it was Muffet's home, but her caverns stretched so far; he'd only seen a fraction of the total. Maybe he was there.

"muffet?" Sans quavered. Why did his voice sound like that? He'd been doing so much better; now he sounded like he had when he'd first met her.

Instead of an answer, a semi-familiar skull leaned into view. It was longer than his. The jaw was articulated instead of attached. A single crack split his maxilla from his left eye down to a golden fang in a mouthful of sharpened teeth. Sans winced. Damage to the skull always hurt more than any other area.

The skeleton was smiling, though. At least, Sans thought it was a smile. It was very small. Then the skull turned and a voice that had his soul singing with happiness said, "he's awake!"

"do i know you?" Sans asked.

The other skeleton turned his skull back to face him. His brows were furrowed. His smile had turned down at the corners. The other looked confused, but also a little angry? Sans wasn't sure what to think.

"don't you have a brother of your own?" The other asked in return.

Sans looked away. If he'd been standing, he'd have hunched over. A couple of tears leaked out of his sockets. He mumbled, "i did, but i can't really remember him."

The other skeleton looked even more angry than before when Sans snuck a peek at him. He said, "how can you forget your own brother? didn't you care about him at all?"

Sans could feel himself shaking now. He was scared. The Empress had asked him the same things. Was this stranger going to treat him the same way she had? He probably would, Sans decided. After all, what kind of a monster would forget their own family? He deserved it.

"Papyrus," another voice said lowly. It sounded a bit like Muffet, but older and considerably more annoyed. The almost-Muffet continued, "May I speak to you for a moment?"

Sans felt the flash of fear in the magic above him. The anger returned to replace it, but the fear had been there. Maybe this strange skeleton wasn't the biggest one to be scared of. What had she called him - Papyrus, was it? That name sounded familiar. He couldn't place it, but maybe...he was drawing a blank. A painful blank. His soul felt like it was on fire, especially down a line from tip to bell. Sans started coughing. It was the kind of coughing that might mean he'd be throwing up shortly.

Several hands slipped underneath him and helped him sit up straight. He was still coughing. His throat hurt even more than it had before. Someone pressed a bowl into his arms. He took it just in time to catch the liquid that came up.

"Oh, dear. Try not to cough up any more, dearie. It's better to keep your blood inside your body. Can you try for me?" The voice like Muffet said. He started to nod, thought better of it, and signed a "yes" instead.

Someone gasped, probably not-Muffet given the pitch. Then the not-Muffet said, "You can sign? Can you sign your name for me, dearie?"

Sans did so. His name was very easy to sign. All of the letters were variations on a fist.

The high-pitched voice hummed. Then it said, "That's going to be a problem. We can't have two Sanses running around, can we? Do you have a nickname, dearie?"

Sans signed a no. Then he added, -not any good ones.-

The voice sighed. Then it said, "Yes, Papyrus."

The long-faced skeleton spoke up. He said, "we could call him brakes, y'know, as in-"

"No," the voice said. Sans decided he could risk opening up one eye socket.

What he saw shocked him into opening them both. Muffet was standing over him, but she wasn't the Muffet he knew. This Muffet was much older. Her skin was redder, her hair darker, her clothes thicker. It looked as though she was dressed for a blizzard of black snow. She had on a thick maroon jacket. Under that was a black turtleneck. She was wearing high-waisted black slacks with maroon and gold detailing. Her above-the-ankle boots were black with gold details.

"m-muffet?" Sans asked.

The face above him smiled. Muffet reached one hand over and smoothed the bandages on his skull. She said, "Yes, dearie?"

Sans gulped and said, "you look...different."

She shook her head. "No, you're the one who looks different. But that's to be expected. Do you know how you got here, dearie?"

"um...no?" Sans squeaked.

She sighed and said, "I was afraid of that. Do you know about the machine in your basement?"

Sans nodded. He'd worked on that machine, worked so hard. He'd been trying to get...what? What had he been trying to do? What had she asked him again?

Muffet's face was full of pity. She said, softly, "I'm sorry, dear. I know it hurts. Do you know what that machine of yours does?"

He nodded. The machine was a teleporter, just like him. It took a whole lot of magic to get that going, but this machine could go places he couldn't. Something had broken it, but he couldn't remember what.

"Okay. Someone sent you here in that machine. We found you with a note."

Sans blinked. He looked around the room, searching for the machine or the note. He couldn't see either. He signed a question, -where?-

She waved her hand dismissively and said, "It doesn't matter. What I want to know is this: who hurt you so badly, and why were you sent here?"

Sans twisted his head away from her only to meet the gaze of Papyrus. The other reached out and held his head. Sans didn't have the strength to resist him. He panicked. Why was Papyrus holding him like that? Had he done something wrong? Was he going to hurt him? Why?

"just answer the questions," Papyrus growled. His jaw moved when he talked. That was so weird. Sans' jaw didn't move like that, did it? How did it work?

"Sans," Muffet interrupted. He tried to look at her. Papyrus let him, releasing his hold on Sans' chin, "did your Soul hurt when I asked you those questions?"

He nodded and signed, -it hurts a lot.-

She nodded sadly and said, "I know. Can you tell me if your Muffet tried to heal you with magic?"

-yes,- he admitted, -it didn't work-

She shook her head and said, "No, it wouldn't have. Magic healing won't work on you for a long time."

Sans began to shake. How can he heal if magic won't work.

Muffet chuckled. She answered his unasked question, "I take it your world always used magic?"

He signed back, -i think so.-

"Our world is... Not so fortunate as to afford that," Muffet said, then added, "We have a saying here. Don't love, and don't be loved."

Sans frowned. He signed, -that sounds wrong.-

Muffet sighed and said, "I know. Nevertheless, it is what most monsters here live by."

Sans signed, -i can only remember one person saying something like that. i think he said, "kill or be killed", but that sounds wrong too. it feels like... like that person got it wrong. at least, before The Human.-

Both of the others stiffened. Papyrus asked, with a great deal of repressed emotion in his voice, "what human?"

Sans closed his eyes and signed, -The Human came through and killed most of the monsters in the underground. everything sort of fell apart after that. The Empress took control and things got worse. i think...i think she is the reason i was hurt so badly.-

Papyrus sighed and Muffet smiled sympathetically. She said, "That sound dreadful, dearie. Can you tell me who this Empress is?"

Sans signed, -it's Undyne.-

Papyrus spoke up, "undyne? the scientist?"

Sans hesitated. Undyne wasn't a scientist by any means. He signed, -she was the captain of the royal guard.-

Papyrus snorted. He said, "undyne? she trips over her own feet every two hundred feet. and she hates the queen. there's no way she'd be in the guard, let alone in charge of it."

Sans looked down. Was he wrong? She'd said she was the captain, but he couldn't remember anything except her shouting at him. He was probably-

"Sans," Muffet interrupted his thoughts, "Who is the Royal Scientist in your world?"

-alphys was,- Sans signed, -but nobody has seen her since The Human.-

"she's the captain of the royal guard here. maybe they're mixed up. we could call you mix," Papyrus suggested.

Muffet shook her head and said, "No."

"why not?" Papyrus asked, miffed.

Muffet looked him in the sockets and said, "Because I can already tell you're going to make horrible puns with it."

Papyrus huffed. Then he smiled and said, "is there anything i can't make puns out of?"

Muffet hummed and said, "You have a point. Sans, how do you feel about the name Mix?"

-i've got _mixed_ feelings about it.- Sans signed, spelling the word 'mixed' for emphasis.

Muffet groaned while Papyrus laughed. "Now there's two of them," She said.

Sans grinned and turned his skull to face Papyrus. The other was choking back his laugh behind two clasped hands. His eye lights were sparkling like stars. The effect, combined with the glint from his false tooth, was dazzling. Sans fought back a blush and turned his head back to Muffet. She was eyeing him thoughtfully.

"How about Blue? You certainly have that color painted all over your face. That, and it's the color of your magic," Muffet added, sternly, "I'm sure you can come up with a pun, but please, spare me."

Sans deflated. Looks like he hadn't been able to hide his blush at all. He thought about the name. It was pretty simple, but since he hadn't come up with anything better, it would have to do. There was one problem, though. What if the other Sans' magic was blue? Muffet wouldn't have suggested it if that were the case, right? Right? Maybe he should ask.

Sans signed, -is your sans' magic a different color?-

Muffets eyes softened. She said, "Yes. How sweet of you for asking, dearie," Papyrus scoffed. Sans eyed him dubiously, but she waved it away, saying, "Do you like it, then?"

Sans signed out, -yes.-

She said, "Then I think you have a new name."

"don't be _blue_ about it," Papyrus said. It earned him a glare from Muffet and a wet chuckle from Sa- Blue. He'd better get used to the name, even in his head. Papyrus shrugged in Sans' peripheral vision. He said, "what? you didn't say anything about me punning about it."

Muffet sighed and said, "I'm already regretting my decision."


	6. Chapter 6

Muffet was just finishing rebandaging his arm when the front door opened. Blue had been watching the door as a way to avoid looking at the wound. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Papyrus and Muffet stiffen. Then the short skeleton in the doorway slammed the door and they relaxed.

The new skeleton was about Blue's height, probably taller. He had on a black leather jumpsuit on that had pointed shoulders. His boots and gloves were a very red purple. So was the bandanna tied around his neck. He looked a lot like Blue might if he'd had better food and actually took exercise. The major difference was his eye lights and the scars. His eye lights were maroon stars just slightly tilted. The scars were deep. Three cracks came down from above his left socket and down a bit below. They looked painful, but they weren't fresh. Blue wondered if he could see out of that eye. Blue had problems with his right one; it wouldn't surprise him if his alternative had problems too.

The sockets in question scrunched up in disgust when they saw him.

"OH. YOU'RE AWAKE. HOW NICE."

Then the other spun on his heels and began opening the door. There were a lot of bolts, Blue noticed. Like, more than ten of them. That seemed excessive.

"Sans," Muffet's voice was low. Blue flinched guiltily.

"I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH IT."

"_Sans_," She repeated.

He spun around, snarling. His maroon magic started to fizzle up from his shoulders and the ground around him. Half-visible bones hovered in the air. Blue started to shake.

Muffet stepped between him and the other- and Sans. Her purple magic dripped in strands from her fingertips. Citrine smoke billowed out from behind the couch, where Papyrus had been standing.

Sans composed himself. The three different magics faded out.

"FINE. HELLO, INTERLOPER."

Blue signed, hands shaking, -hello. my name is blue now. i like your bandanna.- He added the last in a desperate attempt to get the other to like him.

Sans blinked. He looked down at the bandanna around his neck, then back at Blue. He looked...uncomfortable.

Eventually he said, "OF COURSE YOU DO. I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE SANS, WOULD WEAR NOTHING BUT THE MOST PERFECT OF ACCESSORIES."

Blue closed his eyes, fighting the pain that was creeping over his soul. It really hurt. Like, an 8/10 with a 10 being him throwing up or passing out. He tried some breathing exercises. In. Out. In. Out.

"WHY AREN'T YOU ADMIRING ME?"

Blue opened his eyes and snorted. Sans was watching him with a haughty expression that almost managed to hide the hurt in his eyes. He had one hand held up to his chest, elbow out. The other arm was straight with the hand at the end splayed elegantly. The pose hurt to see, but at the same time it felt good. Like when his baby teeth had fallen out. It hurt but was also a relief. His soul really was a mess, wasn't it?

Blue managed to cough out, "you're too much to take in."

The hurt in Sans' eyes lessened. Instead, fierce pride took its place.

"WELL...I SUPPOSE I MUST MAKE AN ALLOWANCE. YOU WERE NOT EXPECTING SUCH A FINE SPECIMEN TO WALK IN THE DOOR. BE GRATEFUL, FOR I WILL GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE IN THE FULL PERFECTION AS YOU HEAL."

Blue nodded as vigorously as he dared. His throat was burning again. He shouldn't have talked.

Sans eyed him thoughtfully. Then he came closer, brushing past Muffet. She was watching Sans like a hawk.

Blue flinched when Sans reached for his neck. The other ignored him. Sans' fingers lightly traced his vertebrae from the bottom up. They lingered over a few, then gripped his chin in much the same way that Papyrus had. Blue was forced to look Sans in the eye. He started to tremble.

Sans sighed and let him go. He said, "WEAK. WHAT KIND OF SKILLS CAN YOU POSSIBLY HAVE THAT WILL MAKE UP FOR ALL OF THE RESOURCES WE'RE WASTING HEALING YOU?"

Blue trembled even more. He didn't want to be a waste of space. That was what the Empress had hated most about him. He couldn't fight. He couldn't heal. He couldn't cook. What use was he? The only thing he was good at was sewing.

"You can sew?" Muffet asked. Blue startled out of the hunched ball he'd become. He didn't realize he'd been signing along with his thoughts.

He signed a very cautious, -yes. i'm not as good with velvet or knits, but i've done everything from satin to leather to denim to linen.-

Muffet clapped happily. Blue turned to her with one lifted brow bone.

She elaborated, "I run a shop, dearie. Armour, clothing, formal wear - anything a monster might need. These two handsome skeletons," Papyrus snorted, "have been helping me for years, but they aren't very good. Another pair of hands who knows their way around a needle will be wonderful! It also frees up Papyrus to go back to his sentry duties, which means another source of income we don't have to worry about losing."

Blue fiddled with his phalanges. Then he signed, -it still doesn't feel like enough.-

Sans tsked at him and said, "JUST WAIT UNTIL SHE GETS YOU WORKING. TRUST ME, YOU'LL REGRET EVER MENTIONING IT. AND WITH THE PRICES SHE CHARGES, WE'LL MORE THAN BREAK EVEN."

Blue's face scrunched up. He signed, -wouldn't charging high prices make it harder for people to afford them?-

Sans gave him a patronizing look, but Papyrus interrupted whatever he was going to say.

"his world was nicer than ours, bro. sunshine and rainbows, not ash and dust."

Blue shook his head and signed, -no sunshine. we were trapped underground. the only place where there is sunshine is in the judgement hall. there were some rainbows in waterfall, though. i don't know who set them up.-

Sans sighed. His whole body drooped.

"THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAS EVER GONE THAT NEAR TO HER MAJESTY UNINVITED IS ALPHYS. SHE CAME BACK WITH A BROKEN LEG."

Muffet stiffened and said, "Sans. When did this-"

He scowled at her.

"JUST TODAY. SHE REFUSED TO LET ME HEAL IT, SO I SPENT OUR 'TRAINING' TIME SPLINTING AND BANDAGING HER."

Muffet just stood there, breathing. Blue looked around and Papyrus was fiddling with his phone. That seemed wrong. Why weren't they comforting Sans? He'd just had to see his friend injured!

Blue made up his mind and held out his arms for a hug. Sans eyed him as if he was some alien creature.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Blue pulled his hands back just enough to sign, -i'm trying to comfort you? it must have been hard to see your friend in pain.-

Now Muffet was staring at him too. He felt like he was an exhibit at some museum. Look but don't touch.

"We don't...do that here," Muffet explained slowly, "Touching is not encouraged."

Blue frowned and said, -that's dumb. physical contact is hugely important to a monster's general health. It causes the soul to release certain magical compounds that help relax and reassure. It's been proven that living without it causes the soul to atrophy and cracks to form.-

Sans and Muffet blinked at him. Behind the couch, something hard clattered to the floor. Blue turned his head. Papyrus looked like someone had slapped him in the face with a wet fish.

"how do you know that?"

Blue thought and winced and clutched at his chest. Slowly he signed, -i don't know. i think i might have done some of the research. i can remember working with alphys in a lab and examining a lot of souls.-

Sans snorted. He said, "AS IF YOU COULD GET ALPHYS TO GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE LAB. SHE HATES UNDYNE WITH A PASSION."

Muffet explained, "His world is mixed up from ours. His Alphys was the Royal Scientist, and his Undyne was the Captain of the Guard until a human came through and slaughtered indiscriminately. Then she took over as the Empress of the Underground."

Sans narrowed his eyes, the stars hiding under lidded brows.

"HOW COULD A HUMAN KILL THE QUEEN? SHE HAS MORE LV THAN ANY OTHER MONSTER IN THE UNDERGROUND."

Blue stiffened. He whispered, "lv? monsters here have lv?"

Muffet nodded.

Blue asked, "do...do you have lv?"

Sans scoffed, "OF COURSE WE DO. WE'D STILL BE IN STRIPES IF WE DIDN'T. LV MAKES YOU STRONGER. WITHOUT IT, YOU'RE JUST EASY XP."

Muffet had been watching Blue closely. He wasn't sure what signals he was giving off, but she was reading something that told her how terrified he must be. Then again, she might just be listening to the rattling of bone against bone.

"Your world does not have lv. you do not have lv."

Blue closed his eyes and signed, -no. the only ones who do are criminals or guardsmen. the empress had lv. dogamy had lv because the empress ordered him to kill people. he...he hurt me. so did she.-

Sans huffed. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE'S A VERSION OF ME WHO IS THAT WEAK. WE SHOULD JUST PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY."

Blue opened his eyes in time to see the hoard of maroon bone shards plummeting towards his body. He also saw the blaster heads rush in and take the blows. He turned to see Papyrus once again fiddling with his phone. Sans snarled behind him.

Muffet sighed and said, "Sans, I'd appreciate it if you didn't Dust my new assistant on the couch. We'd be vacuuming up the Dust for days."

Sans called off his magic and stomped off, heading for the stairs. The steps creaked under his booted feet. A door slammed somewhere above him. Blue took in a gasping breath.

"he'll get over it. he always does," Papyrus said into the waiting silence.

Blue gulped and signed, -i don't...okay. i'll try not to get him angry again.-

Papyrus chuckled and said, "good luck with that. just about everything makes him mad. Sometimes he's just mad for no apparent reason. "

Blue tried to force his shoulders back down to a more reasonable height.

-can you try and fix up my machine? that way i'll not be the burden on you i already am.-

Muffet looked at him with sad eyes. She said, "Of course we can, if that's what you really want."

Blue nodded. The sooner he could get out of this world, which made his soul ache and his palms sweat, the better.


	7. Chapter 7

"What are you doing, Papyrus?"

Papyrus stood up from his kneeling position and turned around. Alphys, in all her scarred, muscle-bound glory was standing behind him. Her arms were crossed over her chest. She would have been tapping her booted right foot if the other one wasn't stuck in a cast.

"nothing," Papyrus said, holding his hands behind his back and trying to look as innocent as possible.

Alphys wasn't buying it. Her scowl was growing by the minute. "You were doing something, that's for sure. Why would you even be here? This is my house. I certainly didn't call you here."

Papyrus tilted his head. He wanted to look like he was thinking hard about his answer. Not that he was. No, he was trying to think of a way to get out of this situation without the Captain seeing the arson device he had left underneath the frill of her house. No one made his brother hurt like that and got away with it. His eyes lit up as he came up with something.

"sans said he dropped something here. i was just looking around the training yard. the way you two train, it could be anywhere. but i didn't find anything. did you see anything?"

Alphys huffed and her eyes skittered around the yard. Less than 10 seconds had gone by before she stopped looking and drew herself up. She scowled and said, "As if I'd care. If he wanted it so much, he shouldn't have left it," then she hesitated and said, "What even was it, anyway? Just so I know what to burn, mind you."

Shit. He hadn't expected her to ask that. What could he say that would get her off his back? He might as well fall back on their reputations. He and Sans tried to keep each other at arm's length outside of the house. They did the same thing with Muffet. It was the only way to survive out here. After all, don't love, and don't be loved. Their neighbors would jump down their throats if they thought there was anything more than indifference between them. So Sans ordered his brother around, and Papyrus complained loudly wherever he went. It had worked so far, why not now?

"He didn't say. He just shouted at me to go get the thing he'd left here and locked me out of the house. I figured I might as well go look while I waited for him to decide to leave the house or, you know, let me in."

Alphys eyed him sideways, then looked away. "Well, go and do it somewhere else."

He saluted maliciously. Then he couldn't resist one little barb.

"Of course, Captain. Tell me, did her Majesty lock you out of the throne room this time, or just break your leg?"

Her lightning chased him out of the yard.

* * *

Blue pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning heavily against. He'd only just managed to catch his breath, but he knew that moving along would make him feel better, at least in his mind. He didn't want to be so exhausted. He hadn't done anything but lay there since he'd come to this universe. He should be able to limp along without too much difficulty.

At least it was warm, he said to himself. Snowdin itself might be cold and wet, but these tunnels under the snow stayed the same temperature no matter how far he walked. He knew caves tended to have that effect, at least as long as they didn't open to the Surface.

"And over to your left is the food quarter. Farms, storage, kitchens, dining hall - we found that keeping them all together made for less traffic accidents," Muffet explained. They were only going from the skeletons' house to her dress shop, but she had decided to give Sans a full tour on the way there. He was trying to be a good audience by making his own comments every so often. He hoped it made up for having to stop so frequently.

Now seemed like a good time to add in a comment of his own. He sucked in a deep, painful breath and said, "my muffet didn't have any farms in her tunnels. the human never made it out to the common farms, and the farmers didn't hold with the territorial wars that followed, so muffet just bought what she needed from them. so did everyone else."

This older Muffet huffed. "We don't have common farms here. The Royal Family supposedly owns all the farms in the Underground. They charge ridiculous prices for a very poor product, just like the water. The spider clan has maintained our own farms for centuries."

Blue winced his way to a resting spot on yet another section of wall. He was panting hard to try and deal with the pain. He managed to gather enough breath to say, "that's sad."

Muffet sighed as she sat on the staircase not 10 feet in front of him. She'd had to hear him say that so many times during this short trip. She must be sick of hearing it. But when she spoke, she said, "Your world sounds like it was so...carefree...before the human arrived. Even after, you didn't have to worry about having your basic needs met. You had food, water, a place to sleep...and yet here you are, barely able to walk. For the kindness of your world to fall apart so fast...I wonder how our world would change in the wake of a human. What would it take for our world to become like yours?"

Blue breathed for a minute in the uncomfortable silence. He was trying to come up with an answer. A part of him was still afraid to see Muffet's dark side. He needed to please her, needed to make sure she wasn't angry with him. But he didn't know how to do that and he probably never would. He was supposed to have been friends with the Empress before everything went wrong. It was probably only because his brother kept him safe.

"I think...I think it would have to become nice first. You said the motto of your world was, 'Don't love, and don't be loved'. I think people would need to learn how to care about others before they could learn to hate," Blue said sadly.

Muffet chuckled. "I believe you are more perceptive than you give yourself credit for, little Blue. There is hatred here, but it is rare. Mostly, there is apathy."

Blue blushed and looked down and away at the compliment. It made his heart twinge. He had to remind himself that she could hurt him easily. She could not hurt his soul if he didn't let himself get attached. They wouldn't want him to get attached. He couldn't afford to lose anyone else.

Muffet was looking at him with a sorrowful expression. He didn't know why. She sighed and stood up with an elegant ease he tried not to admire.

"Come on, Blue. Get up the stairs and we can start on the dress."

Blue pushed himself off the wall and pushed himself to walk towards the stairs. He could do this. If he did this, he'd be useful, and if he was useful, they wouldn't regret taking him in.


	8. Chapter 8

Blue finally comes to rest at the top of the stairs. They had been difficult to climb, but he had made it. Now was the time for him to step forward and get his first look at the dress shop where he would be spending his time until he was well enough to go home. Then he wouldn't be in these nice people's hair any longer.

He reached out and turned the worn brass doorknob. It was unlocked, but getting it to open up was a challenge. The hinges really needed some oil. He wondered if that was on purpose.

When he got the door open, he took some time to lean on it and get his breathing to come down to a less frantic pace. The shop was small, maybe 14' by 20'. The black counter with the cash register ran the length of the room so that the door to the outside was on one side of the counter and all the dresses, sewing machines, and work tables were on the other. There were three mannequins, two with dresses in mid-construction and one empty. All the tables were empty. The chairs looked hard. The carpet below them was pink and grey. The walls were painted light pink with black wainscotting.

All in all, it looked nice. Upscale, even. He would definitely be intimidated if he were coming in here to buy something. He'd never be able to afford it. Even if it had been for…

Muffet pulled his hand gently away from where it was clutching against his chest.

"I'm sorry, dearie. Did something in the shop upset you?" She asked. Several of her eyes were scanning the room for whatever might have upset the smallest skeleton.

Blue shook his head. "My mind just started wandering and it went somewhere that hurt."

"That's alright then. Do you want to go take a seat at the cutting table, dearie?" Muffet asked, but the way she said it made it not really a question at all.

Blue sucked in a small breath, wincing as his ribs protested, and pushed himself off of the wall. His steps were tiny. His soles never fully left the ground. But it kept his leg from hurting too much when he had to put weight on it, and it was just a little enough of a step that he wouldn't call over or passed out from lack of oxygen. With those steps it took him about five minutes to make his way to the chair by the cutting room table and sit down at it. He felt like he'd just run a marathon.

He turned in his chair to watch Muffet. To his surprise, she was carrying the uncovered mannequin over from where it stood. With her standing next to it, it looked huge! Blue wondered what kind of monster would need a mannequin that big.

"This one stays permanently set up to the Queen's measurements. She orders so many elaborate dresses that it's needed. Now, this is the sketch she gave me for her latest dress," Muffet said, playing him a crumpled piece of paper.

Blue examined it closely. Then he flipped it to the other side. Then he turned it upside down. Then he went back to try flipping the first side again. "this is…" he stopped, at a loss for words.

"Childish? Cartoon- like? Crumpled beyond all recognition? Useless?" Muffet said, deadpan.

"... not the worst thing I've worked from. I think. Here, let me show you," Blue pulled out his phone and swiped his way through some pictures. Finally he found the one he wanted after enduring all the pain from the other photos. It was a composite photo, which he handed to Muffet.

On the left was a drawing on green construction . The top half was white, with yellow squiggles at the breast and hems. A red blob with corners kind of outlined the white top. Below that was a blue triangle with a yellow squiggle above that.

On the right was an outfit laid out on grey carpet. It had a white painted breastplate with a yellow insignia on the breast. The lower edge was painted yellow. So was the armband that closed off an almost perfect spherical sleeve. The spheres were white. A red cape with a deep cowl was laid out next to the top. Below that was a pair of blue mini-shorts with a yellow waistband.

Muffet whistled and looked at him. She wasn't quite so much impressed as she was approving with a slight hint of commiserating.

"This is quite good. If you made it then I'm sure to put those skills to use here. If you didn't, we'll, at least you had good taste. You'll be working here regardless," Muffet paused, then continued, "Either way, also, we both have our work cut out for us turning Her Majesty's latest sketch into a dress. And when I say 'cut out' I do not mean literally."

It took Blue a few moments to get it, but when he did, he laughed out loud. He immediately regretted it. His ribs ached.

Muffet tilted her head at him, a soft smile on her face. She stated, "_Sew_ you like puns, too. I can work with that. I'm glad you _satin_ that chair, because you'll be in _stitches_ over these ones. Do _jersey_ my point?"

With every pun, Blue was sent back into another bout of laughter. His ribs were really hurting now, but somehow he didn't care. It felt good to laugh like this.

When he sat up, Blue saw a fleeting glimpse of a indulgent smile before Muffet's face became a barely-tolerant, tight-lipped mess again. He wondered what had prompted it. Was it just that she was happy to have someone appreciate her puns? Part of him was saying that she'd done it to make him happy. The rest of him was having doubts. Did she really care about him that much? She'd said that people here didn't care about others. Which should he believe?

Muffet cleared her throat, drawing him out of his own head. Blue looked up at her and saw the crumpled sketch she was holding out to him, saying, "Be a dearie and make a proper sketch of this, will you? There's butcher paper in a roll under the table, and pencils in the drawer."

Blue nodded and took the sketch. Then he grabbed a pencil, pulled out a stretch of butcher paper, and set to work.

* * *

Papyrus woke from a nice long nap to the sound of heavy pounding on their house's door. He yawned, stretched, and pulled out his phone to check the time. 1:33pm. Right on time.

He stood up lazily and slunk over to the front door. He peered out the peephole, just to make sure. Yep, there was Alphys. Her face was twisted in a scowl with her teeth showing. Her pants and tank top looked slightly singed. She usually had her armour to protect her from fire magic. It was metal, though, and once it got hot enough, not even she could stand touching it. She'd probably left it behind.

"I know you're in there, Papyrus," Alphys called through the door. "Open the door right now. That's an order."

Papyrus tilted his head. Did he really feel like listening to her, or could he get away with messing with her some more? She was fun to mess with. On the other hand, he really didn't want her leaving, not with that leg. She was too stubborn to take it easy on it, and she was too stupid to let his brother heal her. All this effort had been to get her to come here. It would be a shame to waste that.

"fine. you're really lucky i'm on my break right now. otherwise you'd be stuck out in the cold where you belong."

As he spoke, Papyrus started to undo the multitude of locks on the door. All in all there were 16 different ways this door couldn't be broken open, and any time any of the trio found another it was added to the array. He started with the mechanical ones, saving the magical ones and the wards for last. He wasn't stupid. She could turn on him at any point.

Alphys growled out, "You're lucky I'm not arresting you right now. I know you had to have planted something. Natural fires don't spread that fast. But killing you would be a waste of time and effort. Hell, you probably would give me negative EXP."

Papyrus swung the door open with an over-exaggerated, elegant bow. Alphys rolled her eyes at the typically aggravating gesture and stepped in.

The lizard quickly hobbled over to the couch and plopped on the left side of his perfect napping spot. He sighed. She shot him an unamused look and picked up the tv remote. "Make yourself useful and go grab a sandwich for me."

Papyrus sighed again. This was going to get old really fast. But as long as that meant his older brother and new guest wouldn't be stressed by Alphys' injury, then it was worth it.


	9. Chapter 9

The artificial lights of the cavern had long since gone dark when Muffet finished cutting out the last piece of the pattern for the Queen's new dress. She set aside the x-acto knife and stretched her stiff body. A few vertebrae popped. She held each stretch long enough for her muscles to relax. Every stretch made her feel more and more like an actual monster.

Once she felt better, Muffet picked up the cutout and added it to the stack beside Blue. He was fast asleep with his head down on a pile of folded fabric. He had been going through some of her samples to make the fabric choices that would define this dress. Muffet had to admit, going through the swatches he had chosen, that he certainly had an eye for color. It seemed odd that someone wearing ratty old gym shorts and a once-blue hoodie.

Muffet buried the temptation to grab him a set of new clothes. She couldn't afford to clothe someone who was just going to leave. Well, she could. But it would hurt all the more when he decided to leave. She'd give it another week. If he wasn't gone by then, she would give in.

For now, she should probably get him to a more comfortable bed. She could carry him, but she knew better than to have her hands full. You never knew when you might need to attack.

So Muffet laid her hand on an uninjured part of Blue and shook him gently. He startled awake. His hand went to his chest and his skull jerked to look at her. It was a few seconds before his eye lights lit up. He blinked at her. His hand slowly relaxed.

"oh. hey, muffet. i'm sorry i fell asleep. what's it you need me to do?"

Muffet stepped back and motioned him up. He wobbled to his feet even before Muffet could explain herself. She appreciated that. It might save his life someday.

"We're heading back for the night. And you can sleep as long as you want once we get there. I've got a generator for the shop, so we can work even after curfew. I'd rather have a well-rested assistant than a regular schedule. Well-rested assistants do better work. So let's get you back to the boys' house to sleep."

Blue slumped, but nodded. He probably wasn't looking forward to the long walk. It had taken so much time to get him here this morning. But she didn't have any beds big enough for him to sleep underground. So back to the house they go. At least he wouldn't have to fight the snow.

* * *

Blue, panting, leaned on the door to the skeleton brothers' house. Muffet had left him to climb the last staircase alone. He'd done it, but it had taken every drop of energy he had. Now he just wanted to sleep. Preferably on something soft.

He pushed open the door quietly. Blue didn't want to disturb anyone who might be on the other side of it. He had already taken so many resources from Sans and Papyrus. He didn't want them to decide they couldn't afford to give him anymore. He didn't want to irritate them either. That might make them kick him out, too. And waking them up from their sleep or nap would definitely count as annoying.

Silently, Blue took in the room in front of him. It was dark, but his night vision had always been good. The couch was still right next to the basement door. The stairs were to his right. The TV was across the living room from him. No one seemed to be up. Good.

Blue padded over to the couch. When he rounded the corner, he froze. There, on the couch he usually slept on, was another monster. He didn't recognize them, although some part of him told him he should have. The sight of their heavily-muscled body, with its scars, missing scales, and heavy calluses, made him tremble. The scarring looked so much like Undyne. Even if this monster had yellow skin and a splinted leg, Blue was still terrified of them. His soul was beating hard in his chest, and Blue couldn't help but clutch at the fabric over the top of it. It felt like his soul would burst at any second. He didn't know how to deal with this. It hurt bad.

He was so anxious about his soul, so lost in the pain, that he didn't notice the figure on the couch stirring in their sleep.

* * *

Alphys woke up to the almost pitch black of the skeleton brothers' house. She knew it was their house because it was pitch black. Her bedroom had a nightlight on at all times because of her really bad night vision, so she wasn't there. The inn and the hotel both had low ceilings - low enough that she could actually see them. The skeleton brothers' house was huge and barely lit. They both had good night vision. It was infuriating.

She sat up and stretched. A few bones popped, but nothing too extreme. The brothers actually had a decently comfortable couch, which was nice considering how much time she spent sleeping here.

But even the most comfortable couch in the Underground was no use against a full bladder. She had to get up. Alphys groaned and forced herself to sit up. As she swivelled her legs over the edge of the couch, Alphys caught the hint of a figure in her peripheral vision. She snapped her head towards it, and yes, there was a short monster standing there. They looked to be about 4 feet tall, several inches shorter than her best fr- than her barely-tolerated trainee. No one had told her that there was another guest here, so it had to be an intruder.

Alphys growled, summoned several axes that glowed ambery yellow in the darkness. They lit a small, quivering monster. She aimed her array of axes and hurled them at him.


	10. Chapter 10

Garnet-colored bones fizzled into existence just in time to stop the yellow-amber axes from hitting their targets. Some of the bones cracked. Some of the axes shattered. But, for the most part, the two attacks met head on.

Alphys turned, snarling, to the stairs. Sans was standing on the second-to-the-top step. He was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Magic fire raged around Sans' body. Alphys would bet serious money that his pjs would have burn marks come morning. They usually did. Alphys had wondered if Sans suffered from nightmares. Then she had deliberately forgotten that thought. She was the Captain of the Royal Guard. She couldn't even consider actually caring about a mere trainee. That was against this world's rules. "Don't love, and don't be loved" bit hard.

"DON'T HURT HIM. HE'S BEEN HURT ENOUGH," Razz called out.

Alphys frowned. "He's an intruder! A thief, probably. Don't tell me you're getting sentimental over a thief."

"I'M NOT," Sans said condescendingly.

She hated that. Just because he was standing on something that made him taller than her, (which he wasn't! She was three inches taller than he was, even if they both were the shortest people in the Underground at 4'3" and 4'6") even then, he still didn't have the right to talk to her like that.

Still, she couldn't help but take his bait. "Then what are you doing?"

"PREVENTING ONE HOUSEGUEST FROM MURDERING ANOTHER. I'D RATHER NOT HAVE TO CLEAN UP ANYMORE DUST," Sans stated.

Alphys' eyes narrowed. "If he's a houseguest, then why didn't you tell me about him earlier? Where will he be sleeping? Who is he?"

Sans rolled his eyes. "BECAUSE IT WASN'T RELEVANT. HE IS MY HOUSEGUEST. YOU ARE MY HOUSEGUEST. PAPYRUS SET UP A CAMP BED FOR HIM IN HIS ROOM. HE'LL SLEEP THERE. HE'LL BE NO BOTHER TO YOU. AND WHO HE IS IS IRRELEVANT."

Blue spoke up from between them, capturing both of their attention. He was still trembling, but now he looked even smaller than he actually was. "i'm b-b-blue. nice to...meet you?"

Alphys knocked back her head in a full-bodied laugh. When it ended, she wiped her eye. Sans rolled his eyes at her. She snorted and laughed some more. Sans and Blue were starting to get uncomfortable. Why was she laughing so hard?

"Sorry," She said without an ounce of apology in her voice, "but that's hilarious. I just tried to kill you and your first response is to say 'it's nice to meet you'? What kind of sugar-coated place have you been hiding? No one acts like that here. No one."

Blue's eye lights slid to Sans, who shrugged and said, "DOES IT MATTER?"

Alphys gave him a hard look and said, her voice full of steel, "Of course it does. That kind of behaviour is against the law. Or didn't you know that? I thought you'd read the codex back to front."

"I HAVE. THE RULES ABOUT CONDUCT ARE JUST THAT. RULES. THEY'VE NEVER BEEN CODIFIED INTO LAW. IN ANY CASE, THIS IS A PRIVATE DWELLING. THE RULES DO NOT APPLY HERE. IF THEY DID, WE'D NEVER HAVE A POPULATION TO REGULATE IN THE FUTURE," Sans said smugly. He was exactly the sort of person who would read and memorize the entirety of all the laws. It suited him perfectly.

Alphys pouted. "Fine. But where would he even have learned to act like that? No one acts like that."

Blue's eyes slid towards Sans again. The other rolled his eyes and answered with the truth. It was so unbelievable he doubted she would accept it. "ANOTHER UNIVERSE. HIS MACHINE CRASH LANDED IN OUR BASEMENT."

"Yeah, right," Alphys nearly snarled, "And I'm the fucking Royal Scientist. There's no way that's true."

"BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT, THEN. I'VE TOLD YOU THE TRUTH," Sans said distainfully.

Alphys moved with a speed that was impressive. She was standing with Blue pinned to the wall in less than a second. He started coughing up blood, but she didn't care. Her hand had slid under his shirt and ribcage and wrapped around his soul.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Sans screamed.

Alphys shouted back, "Finding out where the hell he's from. His soul will tell me, I just-"

Her voice stopped dead as she stared at the mess of a soul in her hands. It was barely held together by the faint web of purple magic wrapped around it. Cracks didn't so much criss-cross it as dissect it. There were eight pieces, each a different color. The smallest was the orange piece. The largest two were the dark and light blue fragments. Only the two blue pieces, the yellow piece, and the green piece were at all glowing. The rest were dim like a crystal through the smoke.

"What. The. Hell," Alphys looked ashen, "How is he still alive. How are you still alive?" She shifted her attention to Blue.

The smallest skeleton was dark eyed and shaking like a leaf. When he did speak, it was in a croak. "i'm...someone helped me. back home, someone helped me. muffet, only not this muffet. she was much smaller and younger."

Alphys looked at his soul for a moment, bringing up his complete check for all to see:

"Sans / Blue" (Undertale)

"His home is as broken as his soul."

"He's traveled the longest way."

1 LV

0.3 / 0.3 HP

60 / 60 MP

AT: 1 (0)

DF: 1 (-1)

EXP: 0

NEXT: 10

WEAPON: None

ARMOUR: None (Injured!)

GOLD: 32,033

Silence reigned for almost a minute. Then Papyrus' voice floated down from above them. "welp. that's certainly something."

"What. The. Hell," Alphys repeated herself. She looked almost ashy white. Then she shook it off and said, "Sans. Explain."

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU. HE SHOWED UP IN A MACHINE IN OUR BASEMENT. HE LOOKS LIKE ME, AND HIS NAME IS MINE, SO WE TOOK HIM IN. HE'S CLEARLY NOT FROM HERE. AREN'T HIS STATS PATHETIC? NO ONE IN HIS WORLD HAS EXP."

"Then who the hell hurt him?!" Alphys demanded.

Blue croaked again. "there was a human. they killed almost everyone in the underground. the ones that are left are being ruled by the empress, undyne. she hurt me."

Silence reigned for another few seconds. Alphys broke it. She spoke as if her words were coming from a long ways away. "I suppose self-interest applies to another version of yourself. Since we no longer have a Royal Scientist, I suppose I can't demand you turn him over. I'm not giving you any supplies for him, though. If he lives, fine. If he dies, even better. I expect you not to let this...houseguest...get in the way of your training."

Sans sneered, "AS IF I WOULD ALLOW ANYTHING TO GET IN THE WAY OF THAT. WHO DO YOU TAKE ME FOR, A WEAKLING?"

Papyrus butted in with a laugh barely hidden under his serious voice, "nah, bro. that's what we take him for."

"GO BACK TO BED, MUTT," Sans said with annoyance, "THIS DOESN'T CONCERN YOU."

Papyrus was openly grinning now, "can't go to bed without my new roommate."

Sans sighed. "ALPHYS, PUT HIM DOWN. LET'S ALL GO TO BED AND WE CAN SORT THIS OUT IN THE MORNING."

Alphys let Blue go, and he collapsed into a small huddle of bones on the floor. Sans sighed and waved his brother down. Papyrus picked him up and carried the exhausted and overwhelmed skeleton off to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

Two days passed. Alphys' house was repaired and she left, reluctantly letting Blue continue to be his weak, scared self at the brothers' home. Blue and Muffet came and went from the store. The dress slowly took shape, with ruffles and embroidery and trains in excess. Sans went to training and pretended to be the pathetically blundering fool that he wasn't. Papyrus sat at his station and lazed about. Things became normal.

But even that hesitant normal couldn't last forever. Blue continued to eat up their medical supplies, and while things were healing (so slowly you wouldn't notice unless you looked for it) they still needed to change medicine and bandages every day. And that was a lot of medicine.

So when Muffet had demanded the next tube of medicine and found out that there was none, Papyrus had explained about the complete lack of extra supplies at the lab. It had to be fixed. Even if Blue wasn't around and needing fresh supplies, it needed to be fixed. Muffet had decided that that meant that they had to fix it.

Blue was walking as fast as he could, trying to keep up with the others as they walked through the wet halls of Waterfall. He was having trouble with one of his legs today. His left leg felt like one solid bruise, which was ridiculous because it hadn't even been hurt. He was having so much trouble with his leg that he'd completely lost track of where they were. The room was irrelevant. Only the pain mattered. That is, until he bumped into Papyrus and nearly fell over.

Blue registered what Muffet was saying as he picked himself up. "...and that is why we came to talk to you today. Is it possible for us to strike a deal?"

Blue looked up, and almost immediately he froze. There, on the other side of a small clearing, were a bunch of yellow flowers. A few of them were swaying to some unheard music. One of them was bobbing rhythmically. But what struck him most was the boredom on all of their faces.

Before he knew it, Blue was surrounded by a fountain of aggressive magic. A forest of blue and white bones sprouted from the floor of the cave. Even more dropped down like bars from the ceiling. And from behind him came the familiar whine of a charging blaster. All of this and barely any drain on his magic reserves.

A collective gasp erupted from the Floweys. Some looked impressed. Others were furious. Even more looked cunning, fascinated, and amused. None of these expressions made Blue want to dismiss his magic. The inherent threat that they posed was too great.

"Blue!" Muffet turned on him and cried out, sharp and hard, "What the hell do you think you are doing? We're in the middle of negotiations, not a fight. We need those ingredients for medicine. The Floweys are peaceful creatures. Drop those attacks right now!"

Blue shook his head defiantly. Didn't she see that the Floweys were a threat? They'd hurt him so much, they'd kill...ed…

Big, boney hands wrapped around him with cautious concern. Blue shook inside them. He was scared now, a deep fear that didn't seem to come from anything real. It was the kind of fear that made him want to fight. A desperate fear that wouldn't back down.

Papyrus' hands slowly brought him closer until he was inside a hug. The big monster dropped down into a tailor's seat. Only when Blue was pressed against his chest did the attacks erode. Blue let out a sob and turned into Papyrus' arms. He buried his face against Papyrus' shoulder and cried. He didn't know what he was crying about other than being scared. Maybe he just needed to cry. No one seemed to mind, the Floweys included.

* * *

Blue was once again leaning against the wall and slowly making progress towards his goal. This time the wall was in Waterfall, and his pace was somewhat faster than it had been last time. There were still Moldsmaals that were faster than him, but at least he didn't feel like a snail. But it still left him with enough time to memorize every pebble and rock on the road as it went by. There were a lot. He could vaguely remember a time when the paths of his distant home had been neat and tidy. It had to have been before the human. Afterwards, no one had the energy to care.

A raised and metallic patch of wall had Blue stumbling into the middle of the road. Nobody caught him. The other two had all their hands full with the baskets of medicinal ingredients they had acquired from the Floweys. So Blue was left to fall over on his own, get up, and turn to examine the wall more closely.

It was a plaque. The metal was grimy and stained, completely disfiguring the image, but the words could just barely be made out. [There is no way to reverse this power. Trapped forever, we will die in this hole. There is no point in hoping. The humans only fall to mock our pain.]

Blue frowned. That...didn't sound right.

Blue could vaguely remember a different message. What had it been? He closed his eyes to better see the glyphs in his memory. He spoke them aloud slowly, trying to will them into being. "there is one way to reverse this spell. if a huge power, equivalent to seven human souls, attacks the barrier… it will be destroyed."

He hadn't realized the others were listening until Muffet said, just over his shoulder, "Dearie, that's not what the it says. Nothing can defeat the power of the Barrier. Everyone knows that."

Blue shook his head. "that's not true. at least, not in my universe. we just had to wait until we had seven souls. seven souls like the seven wizards. once we had them, then we could be free. we already had six souls, but the human...the human stole them."

Only the sound of condensation dripping down from the cave ceiling broke the silence. The other two were staring at him. They didn't look happy. Blue shrunk back with his arms coming up to hug his body. He sucked in a breath to speak, but Muffet beat him to it.

"You mean...we could have gotten free already? We could have reached the sun?"

Blue focused on her. Now she looked wistfull with a side order of despair. Two of her arms were wrapped around her body. Another two were wringing each other. The last two were clenching and unclenching, revealing the upset anger that was slowly growing.

When Blue turned to Papyrus, he could see that anger in full force.

Papyrus snarled, "there's no way that's true. you're lying. you haven't seen the barrier break. someone made that up to give you false hope."

Blue looked down and rubbed his arm. "i think it's real. i know someone was collecting the souls...someone important? and i know the prince was able to cross the barrier once he absorbed the human prinx' soul. not just once, but twice."

Blue couldn't see Papyrus' face, but he could see his feet as he took a step back. This time it was Muffet who sounded angry.

"We don't talk about that. Nobody talks about that lying little minx. They don't deserve it."

Blue flinched from the anger in her voice. Her anger sounded scary in its calm. Papyrus sounded angry with energy behind it, like someone who was getting out all his anger in his words. Muffet sounded composed, and, in Blue's experience, that was a much more dangerous kind of anger. That was the kind of anger that lashed out physically to relieve its pressure.

He quickly apologized, "i'm sorry. i won't talk about it again."

"Good. Now let's get out of here. We have a dress to finish and the faster we make it the more money we make."


	12. Chapter 12

The sound of driving snow impacting against the glass windows was the only sound to break the still night of the house. Outside a blizzard raged on, but inside nothing moved. Nothing stirred. Well, something stirred. It was a skeleton.

Papyrus stared up at his empty ceiling. There were no stars, although there once had been. The ceiling still had the pale shadows of where they once were.

His mind was going a mile a minute. Places where someone had lied to him were standing out in his brain in the same way those empty patches stood out on the ceiling. The resulting shape was starting to build constellations in his mind. Who knew? Who knew that there was a way to reach the Surface?

Not Alphys. She killed humans in the same way they all did, destroying the soul so that the human had no chance of coming back.

Maybe Undyne. The way she took in everyone the Queen wanted dead...that spoke of a monster who had hope. Hope that things would change. Hope that people might live. Hope that there was a future for monsterkind to look forward to.

The monster behind the door definitely knew. That promise to look after the souls of the humans who came was a huge hint that there was a reason to keep them around. And the anticipation that filled his voice when he spoke of the Surface...he definitely knew. It was pointless to speculate about how and why until Papyrus could get his hands on a clue as to who that monster was.

The Queen had to know. All those speeches? All those lies? She wanted monsterkind to rot under the mountain. Not that surprising considering the gory nature of her tea parties, and the way she made food and water impossible to come by? She definitely wanted them dead.

The more he thought about it, the more people's actions started to make sense. The Riverperson's cryptic conversations at the shop? Gerson's talk about the angel? Grillby's messed up trivia about survival techniques on the Surface? So many monsters seemed to be in on the conspiracy. Gyftrot. Knight Knight. Pyrope. Ice Cap. So many.

Why hadn't they done anything, though? Did that stupid rule of "don't love and don't be loved" really hold that much weight? Not only in itself, but in its ability to overrule self-interest? All they needed was seven human souls.

Once they had the human souls, how did they use them? Did you stick them in a jar and throw it at the Barrier? That seemed dangerous and wrong. Did you absorb them and walk through? How did you do it? Did anyone know? Scratch that, would anyone who knew willingly tell him? Probably not, except…

Papyrus squeaked his way upright from his old spring mattress, then slid his feet over the edge and into their shoes. He wiggled his toes until they were comfortable, wrapped them around his ankle, and tied them off. Then he stood up and started walking silently over to the sleeping skeleton that shared a room with him. Blue was fast asleep, curled up into a little ball around his ball of sheets. It was such a ridiculous way to sleep. Better to throw the blankets off entirely and sleep like a normal monster.

Once he was beside Blue's bed, he reached out and shook him gently. Blue blinked his eyes slowly up at him and then smiled. It was an easy, happy smile that sent shivers down Papyrus' spine. He made a note to try and get smiled at like that more often. It definitely felt good.

He was so completely wrapped up in looking at the smile that he completely forgot to ask his question. Luckily Blue was there to remind him.

"hey there, papyrus. why'd you wake me up? it's, like, 3 am."

Papyrus breathed in a big breath. "how do you use the souls to break the barrier? how do they affect it? why only human souls? what would it look like? would there be magical interference? would there be blowback? do you need to be a boss monster to use them? how-"

Blue held up his hands defensively, wincing a little at the movement. "whoa, whoa. whoa. slow down. i can only answer so fast. now, what do you want me to tell you?"

"how do you use the souls to break the barrier? Not in general, I need the specifics."

Blue sighed. "i promised muffet i wouldn't talk about it. sorry."

"no you didn't," Papyrus said quickly, "you just said you 'wouldn't talk about it', and, by context, you implied that you wouldn't talk about the prinx, not the souls. muffet won't hold it against you if you tell. she's used to me weaseling my way around my words."

Blue shivered, but nodded. "fine. just...promise me she won't get mad? she seemed really mad."

He didn't even hesitate. He knew Muffet, and she wasn't the type to blow up over something like that. It was just things relating to the former Prinx that were the problem. Everything else was fine.

"i promise. now, tell. the suspense is killing me."

Blue worked himself up into a sitting position and explained, "well, first you need all seven souls in stable format, which means they've got to be in a living body or a magical vacuum chamber. human bodies do a good job of filtering out outside magic. Out in the open, a soul has no chance, hence the vacuum. i think ours were in a vacuum tube."

"once you've got that, you need a way to channel it. um...i think i helped design a runic circle to do that? i can see it in my head, but i...yeah. i think you also need a chant, but i don't remember that part. i think it'd be easy enough to figure out once we have the magic circle."

"then you take all that raw soul power that's coming out of the souls and throw it with a widdershins rotation of -90 degrees. i can actually remember doing the research for that. humans do most of their magic with a clockwise rotation, and the vectors need to cancel out. the original mages' average vector of rotation was 90 degrees. ergo, the vector of rotation we needed was -90, or 180. The clockwise piece decided it."

** "it should shatter like a piece of glass when the energy hits. the shards should dissolve, too. They need an energy supply, and the soul energy should destroy that. the other possibility is that the soul energy will eat away at the barrier like acid, but that's only a 30% chance."

"um," Blue hesitated, "i think that's it. do you have any other questions?"

Papyrus shook himself out of the shock and asked, "would there be magical interference? would there be blowback? do we need to be worried about a magical pulse?"

Blue said, slowly, "there might be a shockwave if it shatters, but not enough to knock out any devices. so, a low grade magical pulse would be possible. it might be enough to give people a headache, though."

Papyrus jumped into the silence with more questions. "why only human souls? do you need to be a boss monster to use them?"

Blue answered, "human souls are insanely powerful. it would have taken every soul in my underground, which was more than two million, to equal the power of one human soul. they're just that powerful. and anyone can do the spell. you're not using your magic, just channeling energy."

Papyrus nodded understandingly. He let out a big huff of air and asked, "if i brought you the materials, would you be willing to build the vacuum tubes? i can handle getting the human souls."

"why?" Blue asked, stunned. "i thought everyone here looked after themselves. why do you want to break the barrier?"

"for sans," Papyrus answered bluntly, "and muffet, too. and me. we used to have dogs, you know. five of them. they'd been thrown in the garbage to die. sans found them and brought them home. he took care of them, fed them, healed them, and loved them so much. he wanted to become the first monster vet. then they got out of the house one day and someone killed them. it was so hard, watching him bury their bodies. no other pups have fallen, but i can't forget about his dream. i know there must be more dogs on the surface. even if he can't become a vet, he needs more dogs."

"and muffet? she hates it down here. the people, the rules, the gloom; all of it wears on her. she's always wanted to see the sun, and i know there are more spiders up there she'd love to meet."

"...and i'd like to study fish. not monster fish, just fish. i love everything about them; the scales, the slime, the barbels, everything! i love the water, and i've read every scrap of information i can find about them, but i've always dreamed of holding one in my hands. i want to see every species of fish i can. i want to learn about fishing, fly-fishing, and nets. i want to walk underwater and see fish all around. i just...i love them."

"for those reasons, i want to break the barrier and see the sun. if it's possible, then i want it. will you help me?"

Blue nodded. "i will. i've always wanted to see the stars. the real ones, i mean. i want to learn the names of every constellation and all the planets. i want to be an astrophysicist. I already have the science down. I just need to see the things behind it."

Papyrus grinned. "it's a deal, then. you help me break the barrier, and i'll get the souls to do it."

Blue smiled back. "deal."


	13. Chapter 13

Crisp snow fell from the ceiling of the grey cave that held the Underground. It drifted down lazily until it fell onto the bare skull of a very tall skeleton. He didn't seem to notice it; he was too occupied with what he was working on.

Papyrus was just about finished installing the camera that would cover this section of the path to Snowdin. He was having a hard time anchoring the camera to the tree.

When he finally got the camera anchored at the right angle, he let out a huge breath of relief and went to turn away. Then he hesitated, turned back to the camera, and gently wiped the lens with his shirt. He really needed to get a good picture quality on these, and that meant the lenses needed to be as clean as possible.

Once that was done, Papyrus nodded decisively and set off towards the next spot in need of a camera. He had four left. He was deliberately spacing them so that nobody could sneak past.

He needed these cameras to be up and functioning as soon as possible. He wanted to see the stars more than anything. If he needed to kill a hundred humans to get out he would, but he only needed seven. Seven souls to break the Barrier. He could already taste that freedom on his tongue.

* * *

The bell above the front door of the shop rang. Both Muffet and Blue looked up quickly. They both relaxed. It was only Sans. He was dressed in cut off jeans, a grey tank top, and a purple flannel shirt. He was carrying his armour folded up in his hands.

"MUFFET! MY ARMOUR GOT CUT AGAIN. I NEED YOU TO STITCH IT BACK TOGETHER!"

Muffet sighed and walked over to the counter, taking the clothing and starting to inspect it. There was about a three inch slice through the breast of the outfit.

Muffet smiled. "It shouldn't take me too long to fix this. Why don't you come back here and chat? You might as well spend the time to interrogate Blue about his world. Then you can share that information with Alphys."

Sans gave her an unamused look, but he did take the time to come behind the counter. He went and sat down next to Blue, watching what he was doing with interest.

"WHERE DID YOU LEARN HOW TO SEW?"

Blue jumped and smiled nervously at Sans. "from books, i think. i remember stabbing myself so many times before i finally got good at it. i can even see the illustrations."

Sans nodded. He silently watched for a few more minutes before he asked, "DO YOU LIKE SEWING? YOU SEEM QUITE ACCOMPLISHED AT IT. WAS THAT WHAT YOU USED TO DO? BEFORE YOUR CATASTROPHIC HUMAN, I MEAN."

Blue thought for a minute. "i don't think so. most of my memories are of the same few spots. i think...i think i used to be a sentry, but it wasn't fun. i was so bored!"

Sans agreed, "SENTRY DUTY IS BORING, BUT IT IS NECESSARY. EVEN THE MAGNIFICENT SANS HAS HAD TO ENDURE IT ONCE IN A WHILE. IT IS FAR FROM MY FAVORITE ACTIVITY, ALTHOUGH PAPYRUS SEEMS TO ENJOY IT. HE SAYS IT'S RESTFUL. I SWEAR HE MUST SPEND SOME OF THE TIME SLEEPING, BUT I'VE NEVER CAUGHT HIM AT IT."

Blue smiled as he finished one seam and shifted the fabric to start the next. "i think i used to do that. it drove my brother crazy. i had a little sensor that i set up one room away from my stations that only went off if my...brother…"

All three of them froze and stared at Blue. He stared at his own hands in shock. They were shaking.

"i...i can remember my brother. he- he looks like papyrus, only with blunt teeth and no implants. his cheekbones are rounder, too. i think they're about the same height. his face...he just lights up when he smiles. he even looks happy when he's frustrated. he...he…what did he sound like? what did he move like? i...i can't remember."

Blue's hand had unconsciously moved up to clutch at his chest. He was breathing heavy from the pain. His eye sockets were scrunched closed.

Muffet finished the last stitch on Sans' outfit and handed it to him. Then she cupped Blue's chin and made him look at her. "Don't hurt yourself trying to remember. You've already unlocked so much today. Let your soul rest and recuperate."

Blue whimpered and turned into her arms, crying against her chest. She was startled and slightly uncomfortable. Her stiffness was due to her lack of familiarity with hugs. But she did not push him away. She let him soak her shirt in salty tears. She even used one of her hands to gently stroke his back.

Sans shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. He was staring at Blue with a look of longing. Then he surrendered himself to his urge and wrapped his arms around Blue. Muffet raised her eyebrow at him. He stuck his tongue out at her.

Blue eventually ended the hug, wiping his tears off on his stained sleeve. "thank you for letting me cry on you, muffet. and thank you both for the hug."

Muffet nodded. Sans reacted in a much more energetic manner. He blushed hugely and stammered, "S-SO WHAT IF I HUGGED YOU? IT'S NOT GOING TO BEC-C-COME A HABIT. YOU SHOULD FEEL LUCKY THAT I CHOSE TO GRACE YOU WITH THE TOUCH OF THE MAGNIFICENT SANS."

Blue smiled softly at him, a trace of a blue blush painting his cheeks. "i feel truly blessed, sans. thank you for this wonderful gift. i don't think there's anything greater i could have been given."

Sans chest inflated with pride once more. "OF COURSE! A LITTLE GIFT LIKE THIS MEANS NOTHING TO THE MAGNIFICENT SANS! I MAY EVEN GIVE YOU SUCH A GIFT AGAIN. LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN I MAY TOUCH YOU AGAIN!"

"i will, i promise," Blue said with a sincere smile. He most definitely was looking forward to the next hug.


	14. Chapter 14 - Ambitions

Papyrus raced through the snow. His long legs carried him far and fast. He had to be the first one to get there. He just had to!

Finally he rounded a corner and caught sight of them. There they were. A human. The first human he would be able to collect a soul from. They were maybe a few inches taller than his brother, so something like five foot two. Their skin was a rich tan, maybe a little darker than the color of cinnamon. They had small brown eyes set high in their face. A broad nose filled out most of the rest of their face. They had prominent cheekbones and thin lips. They were wearing a loose black t-shirt and jeans over leather moccasins.

The human stopped walking the moment they spotted him. They held their hands up, showing that they held no weapons. Papyrus slowed to a stop about three feet away. The monster and the human stared at each other in silence. It was broken by a racking cough from the human that brought up blood.

"Heh. Sorry about that," The human said quietly as they wiped off the little trail of blood. "It is why I am here. Are you a policeman?"

Papyrus blinked. He'd heard that word before. What did it mean again? "oh. i'm not a member of the guard, but i am a sentry. kind of like the next tier down. i can still make arrests and such. i just don't have to wear the stupid armour. why?"

The human smiled. "The old man wouldn't take my soul. I asked if a policeman would have the proper authority. He said yes."

"why do you want someone to take your soul?" Papyrus asked with a frown. "you do know you'll have to die for that to happen, right? why would you want to die?'

The human laughed. It fell apart into another coughing fit. More blood came up. "Heh. Pain will do odd things to a person, and I am in a great deal of pain. And even if I did not want it, death is coming to me. I am dying of cancer. It has already spread to too many places for even the best doctor to fight it. If I am going to die, it is better to make use of it to right a wrong than to waste it. My people have many stories, stories that have been passed down for generations in such a way that nothing is lost. Others may have forgotten about the monsters we locked down below, but we have not. We remember your bravery, your kindness, your generosity. You saved many of my ancestors' lives. We were wrong to help lock you below. I am here to help you regain the sunlight you never should have lost."

Papyrus blinked, dumbfounded at the passion in the speech this human had brought. Their eyes sparkled with a light he had seen before. A sense of justice was hard to deny. Who was he to argue with it?

"What is your name, human?" Papyrus asked as he summoned his weapon. It was a four foot glaive with a one foot blade of pure amber magic on the end of it.

The human eyed it with a calm acceptance he couldn't help but admire. They closed their eyes and tilted their head back, ready to die. "Ama. My name is Ama. It means water in my people's language, _tsaligi gawonihisdi, _or Cherokee in the language we are speaking."

Papyrus readied his weapon, pointing it at their throat. "Thank you for your sacrifice, Ama. It will not be for nothing.

With that, Papyrus quickly sliced through their throat. Blood spurted out for a few seconds, then it died off to a trickle. Ama smiled weakly, closed their eyes, and collapsed to the ground. A few seconds later their soul floated into being above their chest. It was bright yellow. The bells faced upward. There were no pockmarks or scars on it. Papyrus could almost be jealous.

He didn't take a lot of time to admire it. He dismissed his weapon and quickly grabbed the soul. He pulled a canister out of his pocket. It was a modified vacuum tube. The yellow soul fit perfectly into it. Papyrus smiled and pocketed the tube. One down, six to go.

* * *

Blue pulled himself up the staircase one hand at a time. He was exhausted and shaky and he really wasn't in the mood for a fall. He was still too fragile; he wouldn't survive. So he dragged himself up by the railing with a white-knuckled grip - at least, it would have been white knuckled if he had skin.

When he reached the top of the landing he paused. His breathing was harsh. Best to take a little break. He looked around at all the decorations, comparing them to what he could remember of his own. They matched up pretty well - a bone flag replaced their painting, the door to Sans' room still had warning signs and caution tape, green and blue fire flickered from underneath Papyrus' door - but then Blue noticed the shrine.

In the far corner of the upstairs hallway, wedged in between the balcony door and Sans' room, was a little wooden shrine. It hung about three feet off the ground and was made of wood so dark it was almost black. Little candles riddled the shelf. In the center of them all were five jars.

"I SEE YOU HAVE NOTICED OUR SHRINE," Sans said from just behind him. "IT WAS HARD TO FIND THE WOOD, BUT THEY DESERVED IT."

Blue gulped and asked shakily, "um...who are they?"

Sans frowned at him. "IS IT NOT THE CUSTOM IN YOUR WORLD TO HONOR YOUR LOVED ONES IN THIS MANNER?"

Blue shook his head. "we spread their dust on the thing they loved most."

"AH. I SEE," Sans said quietly. "THAT IS NOT THE CUSTOM HERE. WE PUT THEIR ASHES OR DUST IN JARS AND KEEP THEM AROUND SO WE CAN REMEMBER THEM AND INCLUDE THEM IN OUR LIVES."

Blue smiled. "that sounds nice. i've always felt weird about the dust scattering. you can never get the grit off of the item, and that means you can never use it again."

"WHAT A WASTE. THIS IS MUCH MORE PRACTICAL," Sans said proudly.

"it's definitely different, that's for sure," Blue said noncommittally. "um...is it alright if i ask who is in your jars? i can't remember having anyone that close to me and paps...although that doesn't mean there wasn't."

Sans walked over to the shrine and pointed to each jar in turn. There were the suspicion of tears in the corners of his eye sockets.

"THIS IS POE. HE WAS A GOOD DOG - BETTER THAN SOME OF OUR SENTIENT DOGS. HE WAS NOT VERY SMART, BUT HIS SHEER SIZE MADE HIM A GOOD GUARD. HE WAS A NEWFOUNDLAND THAT FELL DOWN INTO THE DUMP AS A PUPPY. HE HAD A COLLAR AND MICROCHIP, SO WE THINK HE FELL DOWN BY ACCIDENT. WE HAD HIM FOR 6 YEARS. HE SLIPPED ON THE ICE ON ONE OF OUR WALKS AND BROKE HIS NECK."

Sans moved on to the next jar and said angrily, "LOVECRAFT WAS A BASSET HOUND. HE WAS TALKATIVE AND FIERCE WHEN PROVOKED. SOMEBODY SHOT HIM, BUT THEY DIDN'T KILL HIM. HE WAS LAYING THERE SUFFERING FOR HOURS. WHEN I FOUND HIM I HAD TO PUT HIM OUT OF HIS MISERY. THE BULLET COLLAPSED ONE OF HIS LUNGS."

Blue was horrified. "who would shoot a creature like that? non-sentient dogs are so rare. there… there was a waiting list in my world. we were pretty low on it, but we would have gotten one eventually."

Sans smiled. "WE HAVE LOTS OF DOGS FALLING DOWN INTO THE DUMP OR BEING BORN IN LITTERS. CATS, TOO, ALTHOUGH THE CATS ARE LESS HAPPY ABOUT IT."

"i can imagine," Blue said quietly. "are the rest of the jars all pets?"

"YES," Sans nodded. "THEY WERE ALL MUTTS, BUT GOOD DOGS. SHELLEY LOVED TO DIG. SHE ACCIDENTALLY CAUSED AN AVALANCHE THAT CRUSHED HER SPINE. STOKER WE GOT AS A PUPPY. HE LIVED FOR 14 YEARS BEFORE CANCER OVERWHELMED HIM. THE LAST JAR IS STEVENSON. SHE WOULD EAT ANYTHING. SHE ATE SOME RAT POISON AND BLED OUT FROM A CUT BEFORE WE COULD SAVE HER."

"i'm so sorry for your loss," Blue said, holding his hands out for a hug. "It must have hurt to lose them."

Sans waved the hug away. "IT'S BEEN YEARS. POE WAS THE LAST OF OUR PACK. THE MAGNIFICENT SANS WOULD NOT BE SO CRUEL AS TO CARE FOR A DOG KNOWING IT WAS GOING TO DIE. THE DOCTORS HERE DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM."

Blue tentatively asked, "are there no veterinarians here?"

Sans blinked at him as if he were speaking gibberish. "WHAT SORT OF NONSENSE IS THAT? YOU MUST HAVE HIT YOUR HEAD HARDER THAN WE THOUGHT."

"a veterinarian," Blue said quietly, "is like a doctor who only sees non-sentient creatures. we had a few back home. it's a lot of schooling and studying. there's way more people who want to be vets than there are spots for them in the schools. it's a huge challenge."

Sans stroked his chin thoughtfully, a wicked gleam glittering in his eyes. "THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PERFECT CHALLENGE FOR THE MAGNIFICENT SANS! I WILL BECOME THE BEST VET THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN! NO ANIMAL WILL DIE FROM SOMETHING I CAN PREVENT. ILLNESS AND PARASITES WILL TREMBLE BEFORE ME! I CAN SEE IT NOW! DR. SANS, THE GREATEST VETERINARIAN OF ALL TIME! MWAH HAH HAH!"

Blue felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer enthusiasm of the monster next to him. He couldn't help but grin. "i'm sure you will be. if there's anything i can do to help you achieve that, let me know."

"I WILL DO IT ON MY OWN!" Sans said fiercely. Then, quietly, he said, "THANK YOU."

Blue nodded happily. He was glad Sans was willing to acknowledge him. He knew he had it in him.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Uses of Rebellion

Blue shuffled back into the living room with his glass of water. Somehow he wasn't surprised to see Papyrus perched on the arm of the couch, notebook in hand. It was a bit odd to see him in that position with his knees in his armpits and his socked feet gripping the worn floral print. He looked a bit like a plucked chicken. The pale pink pajamas weren't helping.

"what- what're you doing? that can't be comfortable. why don't you just sit on the couch like a normal monster?"

Papyrus looked up from his manic scribbling and smiled wanly. "nothing wrong with a little perching. besides, it's your couch now. wouldn't be nice to get my feet juices all over the place where you sleep."

Blue chuckled. "dude, i've slept in way worse than foot juices. back when me and pap were on our own, we slept in the dump's water and the city sewers. foot juices have nothing on that."

"so you were abandoned, too?" Papyrus said bitterly, "i thought your world was supposed to be all sunshine and roses."

Blue scrunched up his face in thought. Trying to remember something so far back was hard. "i think...i think we ran away. i can, uh, remember some pretty bad things about the people we lived with. stuff like withholding food for bad grades and waking us up with cold water. blows, too. i don't think they ever hurt pap, but...they're the reason my tail is so crooked."

Papyrus practically purred. "so that _was_ a tail. hard to tell under the bindings. sans and i have ones, too." He slipped a long, whiplike tail out of his pants. It wagged slowly, but there were little sparkles coming off the end of it. "why don't you just leave yours out?"

Blue winced. "dude, my tail is embarrassing. it twitches and jerks. it's zig-zaggy. anytime it catches on anything it hurts like hell. it's way too sensitive."

"we've got ointments for that. sans needs them for his cracks, and muffet has them on her feet all the time. we can soak the stuff, too. please? our tails are a part of our monster heritage that annoys the hell out of the queen. we have to show them off."

"really?" Blue was confused, "you want me to do something just to piss off a member of the royal family that can kill me on a whim?"

"no, duh," Papyrus' voice was wicked. "it's not like you're ever going to meet her. she never leaves her fucking palace. you'll be safe. just rebel with me a little?"

Blue hesitated. Papyrus seemed really excited about this...and if it wouldn't hurt, was it really all that bad? "okay. go get these ointments; i'll unbind it."

Papyrus pumped his fist. "yes!

* * *

Sans gulped as he stood outside the doors to the Queen's throne room. He was the only person she ever let get this close. It was a huge burden, being her only contact with the outside world. He sometimes wished she would just die and free him from this contract. But no. That just wasn't meant to be.

For all that he joked about her, Sans was terrified of their mad queen. He never felt safe around her, and some of the stuff she make him do...hurt. But he would die before he told the others. Literally. It was written into his bloody contract that if he told before the contract ended then his life was forfeit. He couldn't bear to leave Papyrus alone. Not when the Queen had already shown him the unsigned contract bearing his brother's name. No, better to pretend everything was fine and soldier on through. That was what he wanted to be, right? A soldier? Or was it? It didn't really matter. It was what he _had_ to be.

Sans steeled himself and shouldered open the heavy door. Purple light spilled out on him. It came from the reflected glare off of hundreds of dolls that filled the room. Lik always, their eyes seemed to focus on him. He knew better. There was only one of these dolls that could actually see him, and it avoided this room like the plague. No, these dolls weren't sentient. They were just creepy as hell.

"Ah, Sans, there you are. I had thought our meeting was for 4 o'clock, not 3?"

Sans put on his slickest smile and turned to face her. She towered over him at 9'7". Most of that was leg; she was easily 2/3 leg, and on top of that she wore heels. Sans couldn't see why. At least, not in here. They only made her look untethered. They were always too small, too, so that the sides of her feet spilled out the top. Maybe they had once been the right size, but no longer. He wondered why she didn't buy new ones. She could certainly afford it.

In addition to the heels, today Queenie was wearing a floral sundress with a mermaid skirt and cap sleeves. It was one of his favorites for the simple reason that it bound her legs tightly and made it hard for her to move fast. It usually meant he could get away from her if she was in a more...amorous mood. For that he was grateful.

"OH, BUT I THOUGHT FOR CERTAIN THAT YOU WOULD BE OVERJOYED TO SEE ME," He said with a smirk. Besides, if he had waited until the appointed time she would have gotten impatient and mad a half hour beforehand and that never went well.

She smiled fleetingly at him in her version of a coquettish smile. "Oh, you. My whole day doesn't revolve around you, you know."

He waved that away. "I KNOW THAT. BUT IF I CAN BRIGHTEN IT AT ALL IT IS MY DUTY TO DO SO."

"Speaking of brightening my day," She batted her eyelashes at him, "would you be so kind as to indulge an old lady with a story?"

Sans nodded. "WHAT SHALL IT BE ABOUT, MY QUEEN? A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR? A SORDID ROMANCE? A DRAGON AND IT'S HOARD?"

She giggled. "Nothing so fancy. I merely wish to know about your houseguest. He has caused quite the stir. I was under the impression that you and your brother were the only skeletons left."

Sans quickly hid his nerves. He didn't like that she was asking about Blue, but he really had no reason to be worried. Right? Right? "AH. I SEE. WELL, THERE IS NOT MUCH TO TELL. WE FOUND HIM INJURED QUITE BADLY. HIS STORY SEEMS," Sans gulped, "UNBELIEVABLE. WE NURSED HIM BACK TO HEALTH AND HE IS REPAYING US BY WORKING WITH MUFFET ON YOUR DRESS."

Her face sharpened. Sans clenched his fist. Damn. She'd caught on to him hiding things. "Now, I know you wouldn't dream of lying to me, my counselor. Your contract binds you not to do so. So tell me more about this guest. Where did he come from? Why are you taking an interest in him? What is his name?"

Sans fought to keep every word he said inside his mouth, but it was in vain. "WE FOUND HIM IN THE BASEMENT. HE IS A SKELETON AND, AS YOU SAID, WE THOUGHT WE WERE THE ONLY ONES. HE'S CHOSEN TO CALL HIMSELF BLUE."

Queenie scowled. "How dare you try to defy me! I can see the bitterness in your eyes. Have you forgotten your place, counselor? Or do I have to carve it into your bones again?"

Something inside Sans snapped. He snarled, "I REFUSE TO GIVE HIM OVER TO YOU, MY- NO. I DEFY YOU. DO WHAT YOU LIKE, I WILL NOT BEND."

Magic the color of a sickly rose wrapped him in chains of fire. He felt the heat warping his bones through his fireproof clothing. He did not sway from his spot. All of his bottled up hatred was in his eye sockets.

She laughed an unhinged laugh as she slunk over to him, tilting his head up with one clawed hand. "I shall enjoy breaking you to the bit again. It has been some time since my torture chamber has seen use. You will regret defying me, counselor. I hope the fleeting adrenaline is worth the pain."


	16. Chapter 16 - Martha

Blue rubbed his eye sockets for the upteenth time. They felt like raw sand had been scrubbed all over them. When he opened them again, he was met with the same sight he'd been seeing for the past several hours: the closed, locked door of the brothers' home. All the locks were in the same place. The dent on the knob hadn't turned. The rug was still bunched up in the exact same way. No one had opened the door. Sans still wasn't home.

Footsteps sounded from the balcony behind him. Blue jumped and turned to face them. It was only Papyrus, dressed in plaid pajamas and yellow slippers, making his way by magic light down the stairs to the bottom floor. Blue sighed and turned his attention back to the door. He was sitting there waiting for it to open like some fairytale princess in a tower. Heh. He really was a damsel in distress.

"he does this all the time, you know," Papyrus said from behind him. "he can be gone for days at a time if her majesty is in a lusty mood. he'll be back eventually with some outrageous story about what they did this time."

Blue turned his head and blearily stared at the other. He seemed so confident in his opinion, but...Blue couldn't shake the feeling that this was different. His soul was screaming at him that something was wrong. He had no evidence that he could show Papyrus, no clue that would turn him to his side. He just had a feeling. A small, sad feeling in the crux of his soul. But it wouldn't go away.

"can't we just...call him?" Blue asked without much hope.

What little hope he had was dashed when Papyrus shook his head. "phones don't work inside the palace anymore. her majesty doesn't trust them not to be spying on her."

Blue asked desperately, "is there anything we can do to check up on him? i just have a really, really bad feeling in my soul. it feels like when i was with empress undyne. like...fear and relentless pain."

Papyrus stared at him with a look Blue couldn't place. It went on for a long, long time. Then Papyrus sighed and headed back up the stairs.

"wait! i didn't mean to-"

"i'm going up to get changed. then we're going to see muffet. i...can't tell you why just yet. okay?" Papyrus locked eyes with him.

Blue opened his mouth to protest being left in the dark. Then he closed it. He trusted Papyrus. The other would tell him when the time was right. "heh. guess this is the multiverse's revenge on me for every time i pulled that move on my brother. i'll bite. let's go."

Papyrus grinned. "good choice. better than staring at a door for hours on end, huh?"

Blue blushed. "sh-shut up."

A deep chuckle reverberated down the stairs that Papyrus was now climbing. "never. now, get yourself untangled while i get dressed to go."

The din reached their ears long before they reached the hallway that led to her parlor. The sound of wood breaking, glass shattering, metal deforming, and fabric tearing told a destructive story of pure fury. Blue shot a nervous look at Papyrus. He didn't seem to be worried, so Blue pulled himself together as best he could (Hah. That was hilarious. He was literally held together by stitches.) and forced himself to walk on as if nothing was wrong.

Papyrus opened the door to the parlor and calmly dodged a flying teacup. It smashed against the far wall, scatting ceramic pieces all over the hallway. Sans had to carefully shuffle his feet to avoid getting impaled. Finally he made it into the room and gawked.

The once neat walls of the once neat den were ragged and torn. The wallpaper had been shredded. The picture frames had been warped and shattered. The wall sconces had been pulled from their sockets and were fizzling. And that was just the walls. The rest of the room was even worse.

Standing in the middle of it all, with her hair disheveled and her clothes crooked, was Muffet. Magic like a spider's web was stretching out of her into every corner of the room. The purple strands were attached to everything. They looked sharp as hell and Blue did not want to be there one too try and cross it to get to her.

Apparently Papyrus did. Here strode into the room confidently, and the strands snapped in front of him like cobwebs. Blue stared agog as her walked right up to Muffet's back and laid a hand on her left shoulder. She spun around clockwise with her elbows cocked and ready to snap a rib or two. Papyrus neatly sidestepped these, his hand never leaving her shoulder. When she had spun enough to see who ward touching her she stopped. The fury and there fight didn't leave her eyes. If anything they increased by at least a factor of 6.

"muffet," Papyrus said, a thousand words in a alien language that Blue did not know passing by, unsaid.

"Martha just sent in a report. She's got him, Papyrus. She's got him in her dungeon on the bloody rack. There's some kind of strange, flaming sigil burned into that chest he never shows us. Martha says it moves like lava and a snake combined. She's been torturing him most of the day. It took this long for Martha's report to make it in. She's probably still torturing him. Martha's said she didn't look anywhere near close to wanting to stop."

Blue couldn't see what Papyrus' face looked like when he heard the news. Here could only see the smoke bubbling up around him, sizzling against the magic silk like strong acid. Blue didn't want to stick around to hear any more of what they said. He was not in the mood to be dissolved alive by gaseous acid. Unfortunately, he didn't get that choice. Muffet's strings ensnared him and raised him up to the corner of the ceiling furthest away from Papyrus. While he appreciated the gesture, he really did, he'd much prefer somewhere more private to have his personal panic attack. Luckily neither of them seemed to be paying him much attention. They were too engrossed in what they were arguing about.

"-at least fourty monsters to deal with the gate guards alone," was the first thing Blue actually heard Papyrus say.

"Make it sixty to be on the safe side. We'll probably hit the changing of the shifts. That means double the trouble, but half the brains," Muffet added.

"true. we can probably get the madjicks on or side just by telling them about the sigil. you just know they'll want to decipher it."

Muffet suggested, "What about the fire elementals? They'll be furious that she would turn on her lover with so little provocation. They're such sentimentalists."

Blue slowly relaxed. These two clearly had it covered. He could panic in relative peace, knowing that they would tell him exactly what, where, and when he needed to act. He trusted them to plot this out. They'd clearly been ready for it for a long time.


	17. Chapter 17 - Rescue

The Day of Freedom would long be argued, debated, and discussed by the monsters of the Underground. It wasn't that they didn't think it should have happened. Everyone agreed that they should have done it a long time ago. No, what was unclear was the order of events.

Eventually everyone decided that what started it all was the spiders. They hadn't even known there were that many spiders in the Underground. They came flooding out of everywhere ready to fight. They had armor and weapons. And… they handed them to people. Everyone was shocked. Why would anyone just give away armor like this? This was top of the line stuff, not the shabby kit given out to guards. This was good enough for royalty.

The next thing that happened was the broadcast. TVs turned on everywhere and static cleared to show Dr. Undyne, the former royal scientist and face of the resistance. Standing behind her were Muffet, the unofficial ruler of Snowdin, and Captain Alphys, the head of the Royal Guard.

Undyne coughed and spoke simply. "People of the Underground. The time has come for revolution. The Queen has broken one of the Ancient Laws. She has bound another monster by magic to her against his will. Worse, she has lied to us. There is one way to break the barrier. With seven human souls to match the seven mages who imprisoned us, the Barrier can be broken. Two souls have already been gathered. We will reach the Surface within our lifetimes."

Muffet stepped forward, her face grim. "My spiders have provided to each of you armor and weapons best suited to your needs. Should you choose to take them, you agree to fight to depose her. Should you die the urn of your ashes will be brought to the Surface and placed in a monument to the brave monsters who fought back. Should you live you will have brought us that much closer to freedom."

Finally Captain Alphys spoke with a snarl. "Any guards hearing this? Stand down. Turn your back to the world and stare at the wall. Any guard not doing this is hereby free game. Kill them. No Queen of Monsterkind deserves to be protected if she has broken the Ancient Laws and lied to her people. She is now public enemy number one. Protect her and you die."

Then the orders flowed, a genuine battle plan that had every monster in these Underground wondering how long this had been planned. They all nodded as they donned their armor. It was time to fight back.

Beyond that… well, no one could agree. Did the Froggits snatch the keys out of the guards offices before the Pyropes strangled them or after? What about the Knight Knights and their heroic barrage of the treasury? Or the way the Moldbyggs snuck through the sewers and infiltrated the kitchens so the Migosps could liberate the contents of the fridges? And you can't forget the way the dog pack sniffed and destroyed every land mine in the inner yard.

In all the confusion and fighting it wasn't surprising that one monster could be missed. Blue walked through it all like it was a dream. He couldn't help. He could only watch as monsters died in front of him. He wrote down their types and names in his notebook when he could so they could be properly recorded in the monument. It had been his idea. The memory of Sans' little shrine to his dogs would never leave him.

Papyrus was right in the thick of it, too, throwing bones and showing off the sheer power he had hidden every day of his life. Monsters were impressed and in awe. They wanted him to be on top of the list of heroes. He insisted that he take his place alphabetically, just like everyone else.

Muffet strode through the captured palace and monsters stopped to stare. Het magic went everywhere, tying everyone down and ending the fighting in an instant. She left behind awe struck (and love struck) monsters of every variety. She didn't care or notice. She had a job to do, and until it was done she would focus on it.

The palace was nearly empty when they reached the torture chamber. Captain Alphys and Dr. Undyne were fighting together in perfect sync against the Queen herself. Both were covered in wounds. So was Sans.

Blue immediately ran over and released Sans from his place on the hot coals, leaving the others to worry about the Queen. The other collapsed into the arms of his brother who looked devastated. The small skeleton looked like he'd taken a swim in a sea of barbed wire only to be attacked by the dullest toothed sharks in the ocean and regurgitated into a pool of liquid metal. The worst wound was the one on his chest. A large sigil that burned like magma was branded deep into his chest.

Blue couldn't take his eyes off of it. It felt like it would be forever scarred into his mind. He wanted to heal it. He wanted to destroy it. He wanted it never to have been drawn. But he didn't dare touch it until a proper healer had seen it.

He was so focused on it that he missed the entire conversation between Muffet and the healer about what needed to be done. He missed Papyrus' heated outburst. He missed Muffet's quiet, angry speech. He only became aware when he was pulled away from Sans and tied down. His shirt was pulled over his head, covering his sight so he couldn't see who was doing this to him.

"hey, uh, not really appreciating the manhandling. what's up?"

Muffet's voice was emotionless, coming from somewhere to his left. "The sigil cannot be undone. The only way to free him is to change who he is bound to and bind them to him. To do that, someone else must be bound. Out of all of us I think you would treat him best, so it has to be you."

Blue struggled in his bonds to no avail. "you can't be serious. you know what that means, right? i'd be soulmates with him. i can't, i- i- i don't know if i care for him like that. we've never been on a date! i don't-"

"blue. please. he needs you," Papyrus pleaded with him. Blue could hear the worry in his voice. The sincerity. The fear. How could he deny something like that?

But how could he do something like this? There was no way Sans could consent. What if he hated him? What if he hurt him? He could hide nothing from Sans if they were bound like this. He'd be completely bare and defenseless.

On the other hand, Sans would die if he was still bound to the queen when she was executed. Blue had read the sigils. He would die, and he would die a slow and intensely painful death. Blue didn't want that. And Blue had to admit that he was tempted. More than tempted, he wanted Sans. He wanted to see him smile every day. He wanted to sneak a kiss under a sprig of mistletoe. He wanted to sit under the stars with him and make up stories about their pasts. He wanted to-

Oh.

Oh.

He was in love. When did that happen?

"You have two minutes to answer or we're doing it anyway," Muffet said harshly.

"i'll do it. i'll be his soulmate. for better or for worse, right? go ahead," Blue said bravely.

"Good," Muffet laid a hand on his chest. Healing magic flowed into him. It did nothing but circulate. He made a noise of inquiry. "I'm afraid this is going to hurt a lot, but the magic I just gave you should keep you from dying."

Blue gulped and nodded. He'd been through pain before. He could do this. "okay. just get it over with."

The next thing he knew he was in crazy intense pain. It felt like the time he'd spilled boiling water all over his arm, only much, much worse. The burning, throbbing pain was all he could think of. It filled his whole world, pushing everything else out of his mind and moving in. It rummaged around the apartment of his mind making a huge, bloody mess. Oh, no. That was his chest. He knew what bleeding felt like and he was definitely bleeding. That meant more bandages. Yay.

The pain didn't so much abate as become normal. Blue sucked in a huge breath, which of course made his chest hurt even more. A battle between his need to breathe and the pain ensued. Eventually he found a rhythm that didn't feel agonizing. No wonder Sans could be so testy. This hurt.

Blue blinked when Papyrus pulled down his shirt. There was an apology in his eyes that Blue just managed to recognize. He wasn't quite sure why it was there. This had to be done, right? And he'd volunteered to do it. There was no way this was Papyrus' fault.

"we need you to do the last bit, blue. can you summon your magic for us?" Papyrus asked.

Blue nodded. He focused through the pain and let his magic swirl around him. It was brighter than it had been the last time he had summoned it, but it still had his signature yellow fringes to the dark blue flames. Someone gasped in a way he didn't recognize.

He looked up, and it was Sans gasping at him. His eye lights were finally focused, which was good. He was staring at Blue's chest and magic with a look of… fear?

Sans, despite his injuries, crawled past the stunned audience and stopped in front of Blue. His hands were shaking badly. Blue reached out to soothe them. Sans didn't pull them back, which Blue had been half expecting. Instead he let Blue place his hands on top of his.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE COME AFTER ME. IT'S ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF PAIN. I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE. I ALWAYS-"

Blue interrupted him. "-have been? you should have asked for help, sans. this is way more than you should have been dealing with alone. this much pain… it's ridiculous. why didn't you ever say something about it? you know your brother and muffet would have helped you."

"I COULDN'T. IT'S IN THE SPELL. I COULDN'T TALK ABOUT IT WITH ANYONE WHO DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW. BESIDES. SHE HAD BACKUP SPELLS TO USE AGAINST THEM IF THEY EVER CAME AFTER ME. YOU KNOW NOW, DON'T YOU? YOU'VE GOT ONE BURNED INTO YOUR CHEST THE SAME AS ME."

Blue shook his head. "she didn't draw this on me, sans. i asked for this. you need someone else to be bonded to, and i- i- i wanted it to be me. okay? i know it's selfish, but-"

Sans laughed in an unhinged way. "SELFISH IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD FOR WILLINGLY TAKING ON THIS MUCH PAIN JUST TO HELP ME. STUPID, MAYBE. THOUGHTLESS. BUT NOT SELFISH. IF YOU HAD ASKED ME-"

"You were comatose, Sans," Muffet interrupted him this time. "We thought you would be out for days. And we aren't done yet. We still need to bind you to Blue."

Sans looked around for the first time. Blue saw his face grow more and more confused as he took in the scene. Papyrus was crouching near where Sans had been. He was watching them intently. Muffet was standing over Toriel, her magic wrapping her up in a struggling bundle of spiderwebs. Alphys and Dr. Undyne stood awkwardly next to one another, refusing to look each other in the eye. Blue chuckled at Sans' confusion, because he knew it came from disbelief. How would Sans react when he found out that he had inspired the entire Underground to rebel? That would be a sight to see. He couldn't wait.

"AND WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO BE BOUND TO BLUE? WHAT IF I WANT TO BE BOUND TO SOMEONE ELSE INSTEAD?" Sans said perversely.

Alphys snorted. He glared at her, but she didn't back down. "You stood down the fucking Queen, full knowing what she would do to you, just because you didn't want to tell her about him. She told us. You're in love with him, idiot. Just admit it so we can go home. My show is on in a bit."

Sans scowled at her. "THE MAGNIFICENT AND TERRIBLE SANS ONLY FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE BRAVEST OF MONSTERS! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE QUALIFIES?"

Papyrus chuckled this time. Sans skewered him with a glance. Papyrus acted like he didn't notice. "you should have heard him helping us plan the attack, bro. he kept wanting to actually help. not to mention the way he volunteered to let us bind him to you. he's brave. stupid, like you said, but brave."

Blue jumped in before Sans could jump down his brother's throat. "i'm not arguing there. with the stupid part, that is. i've done a lot of stupid things lately. but i'd like to finish this one before we move on to the next."

Sans let out a bark of unexpected laughter. Blue couldn't help the grin that split his face. Sans' laughter sounded nice. He definitely wanted to hear more of that.

"VERY WELL THEN, BLUE. BROTHER? MAKE IT SO."

When Papyrus reached out for Blue's magic to replace the magic in Sans' sigil Blue already had a ball of it ready for him to use. Sans' eyes fixed on it as Papyrus knelt down to trace his chest. "this is still going to hurt, bro, but hopefully not as much."

Sans, oddly enough, smiled. "SOMEHOW I DOUBT THAT. SHE USED SALT TO FINISH OFF THE SPELL WHEN SHE PUT IT ON. AND THAT TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW."

Blue winced in sympathy. At least he didn't have to deal with that level of pain ever again. At least not if Blue had any say in the matter.

The rush of emotion that Blue felt when Papyrus finished off the last rune was overwhelming. Sans felt like so many things at once. Pride, sorrow, curiosity, amusement, love, fear, excitement… wait, love? Blue looked up at his new soulmate and saw the same surprise echoed in his eyes and face that Blue was feeling. Heh. Guess he wasn't the only one who had a crush on his partner. From the way it felt, Sans had been in love for a while. Blue wondered if he felt the same.

Sans' soft smile made Blue feel giddy with happiness. He smiled back. He had no idea how long they were staring at each other like that before Alphys' cough drew their attention. She had the most amused expression on her face. "So! Can we go home now? I'm going to miss my show if we don't hurry."


	18. Chapter 18 - What's in a Name?

Blue didn't know which felt weirder; the emotions rushing through him that weren't his own, or the rubbing of the bandages on his newly injured chest. Neither hurt exactly, but Blue knew that was because of the pain medicine he was now on. Apparently enough time had passed for the monsters in Dr. Undyne's care to mass produce the first aid supplies that had been so lacking when he first arrived.

And hadn't that been a surprise to the rest of the Underground. Not only had most of those monsters survived, but they had formed a tight-knit community that actually cared about one another. They even cared about the rest of the Underground, and they were slowly teaching them how to love again.

Blue was doing that job, too. He'd been doing that before the Day of Freedom, but now it was much more organized. It had been a few days since then, and he was still working on Sans. The other had some… odd ideas about how this whole soulmate thing was supposed to work.

At first Blue had thought that these were just the standards of his world, but Muffet had set him straight. "I don't know what he's thinking," she had said when Blue had asked her why Sans kept refusing his contact. "Soulmates are supposed to touch and care for one another, even outside the home."

That had opened Blue up to the realization that Sans was uncomfortable. He'd tried to speak to him about it, but he hadn't even been able to get past his name before Sans had winced. That had spun around inside of Blue's head for hours, and he finally had his conclusion.

Blue sat up in his little cot, which Papyrus had helped him move into Sans' room. He took in the room itself. It reminded him of his brother's, but it also reminded him of his own. The walls were bare and the floor was strewn with socks, but there was a table with action figures, a computer, and a racecar bed. The bookcase that had been in his brother's room was replaced with the chest of drawers from his. All in all, it looked lived in and loved.

Sans was currently laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling instead of sleeping despite the late hour. Blue crawled out of bed and over to his side, carefully not touching him. Sans shifted so he was looking down at him. Blue couldn't read his expression, but he could feel his curiosity.

"YES? WHAT IS IT?" Sans asked as quietly as he could.

"i think i've realized something that could help you. you don't like your name, do you? you've been flinching every time i say it ever since we were bonded."

Sans froze, his soul radiating startlement and confusion. Blue could see and feel the wheels turning in his head. Then he felt the realization hit Sans. It felt like the truth. "I… I BELIEVE YOU'RE RIGHT. HOW STRANGE. I'VE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT BEFORE. WHY WOULD IT HURT ME NOW?"

Blue shrugged. "my guess is that all the times that _**she**_ said it when she was hurting you have finally added up. and maybe there's a little bit of… i don't even know what to call it… but some kind of emotion about the fact that it's my name, too."

His soulmate considered this. Then he nodded. "I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES SENSE. AFTER EVERYTHING SHE DID EVEN THE MAGNIFICENT… ME… IS BOUND TO HAVE SOME… WHAT DO THE HUMANS CALL IT? AH, YES. TRIGGERS. HER DAMNED CONTRACT SUPPRESSED THEM UNTIL NOW. IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT ONE OF THEM HAS TURNED OUT TO BE MY OWN NAME."

"yeah, but at least it's an easy one to fix. all we need to do is find you a nickname, like mine. do you have any ideas?" Blue asked.

"HMM," Sans considered this, "I DO NOT. MAYBE ANOTHER COLOUR? I'LL ADMIT I WOULD LIKE TO MATCH WITH YOU IN SOME WAY, AND THAT SEEMS THE EASIEST WAY TO DO SO. MAYBE SOMETHING BASED ON MY MAGIC?"

Blue hummed and pulled out his phone. "let me look up some better names than just reddish purple. you're a magnificent monster. you deserve a magnificent name."

Sans smiled at him, that giddy little smile that Blue was coming to love. It always accompanied a happy little surge… and a bit of humbleness, which was odd when you realized that the easiest way to make it happen was to compliment him. Blue wondered if his brother had felt the same way. Probably. He knew that both Sans and Blue's Papyrus shared one thing; they were both autistic. There were a hundred little things that told him so, from their obsession with their favorite outfit to their speech patterns. Some people might read them as arrogant, but he knew better. They just were uncomfortable with their words and tried to hide that by being over the top confident. He didn't think there was anything wrong with that. In fact, he thought it was cute.

Speaking of cute, Blue landed on the perfect site to supply him with names. It was a colour matcher from a paint salesman. He held it up triumphantly. "here! this site matches up your magic colour with the names of different paints in the same family. this will be perfect! summon something. uh, please?"

Sans laughed. His laugh was some weird mix of a giggle and a chuckle. It was cute and perfectly him. He summoned a little bone. It burned with raw magic, the kind that was inefficient on purpose to make the room warmer. "WILL THIS SUFFICE?"

Blue nodded and held up his phone, snapping a picture of Sans' magic. The little wheel of doom spun, then a palette of colors popped up in front of him. He tried them out. "um… how about wine?"

Sans shook his head. "TOO FORMAL. BESIDES, DOCTOR WINE SOUNDS ABOUT AS FAKE AS YOU CAN GET."

Blue moved on to the next one. "okay then. garnet, maybe?"

"NO," Sans decided after a moment, "THAT FEELS A LITTLE TOO FEMININE FOR ME. WHAT'S NEXT?"

"raspberry?" Blue said hopefully.

Sans hesitated. He seemed to like it, but… "THAT IS TOO LONG. I'M USED TO JUST ONE SYLLABLE. WHAT IF WE SHORTENED IT TO RAZZ?"

Blue's face lit up. "that sounds perfect! it's got a nice ring to it and it matches your magic colour. plus, it's such a luxury item. raspberries were super rare back home, and they were always expensive. that's perfect for someone as majestic as you!"

"THE MAGNIFICENT RAZZ," his soulmate said, "I LIKE IT… THANK YOU, BLUE. YOU SOLVED A PROBLEM I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW I HAD BEFORE IT GOT TOO BIG TO DEAL WITH. FOR THAT, I AM GRATEFUL."

Blue beamed at him. He knew he could do it. "of course, razz. now, let's get some actual sleep before we tell everyone in the morning."

* * *

Razz couldn't be nervous. He was a magnificent skeleton, truly smart, brave, and loyal. So there was no way that he was nervous about this. He was only going to talk to his brother! That wasn't scary at all! RIght?

Blue sensed his internal conflict and stopped moving. Razz bumped into the back of him. He glared at Blue when the other turned to face him, but his heart wasn't in it. He just wanted to see Blue's cheeky smile again. He loved it. It made Blue's whole face light up with hidden laughter. If there was any expression that Razz wanted to see on his face, it was that smile.

"heh. someone's eager to get this going. what do you think your brother's going to say?"

Razz straightened. "WELL, OBVIOUSLY HE IS GOING TO BE IMPRESSED WITH THE PERFECTION OF MY NEW NAME! IT IS TRULY MAGNIFICENT AND WORTHY OF SUCH A GREAT MONSTER AS MYSELF!"

The next voice that spoke wasn't one he expected. "what kind of perfection? physical? auditory? emotional?"

Razz spun around. Coming down the stairs behind him with a very familiar grin on his skull was his brother, Papyrus. He looked unnaturally tense for someone who was usually so relaxed. Seeing his brother like that made Razz's own defences rise. He swallowed his nerves and said, "HAVEN'T I TOLD YOU NOT TO SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT?"

Papyrus smiled cheekily at him. Razz couldn't help but compare it to Blue's smile. They were similar, yet oh so different. Blue's smile had a softer edge to it, and his eyes looked so mischievous, like a little kid pulling a prank on an adult. Papyrus' smile was harder, sharper, and much more cynical. It was more how Razz pictured a real imp or a demon would look when contemplating doing… something. Exactly what that was, Razz had never really understood.

That smile surrounded Razz on both sides. He ignored it, waiting for his brother's response. "you never told me not to sneak up on you on the way _down_ the stairs, sa-"

"don't say it! please!" Blue almost screamed. Papyrus stared at him like he was crazy.

Razz quickly jumped to his soulmate's defense. "HE'S RIGHT. MY NAME HAS… UNFORTUNATE EFFECTS ON ME, NOW. IT SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME A TRIGGER. BLUE NOTICED, AND HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF GOING BY A DIFFERENT NAME. I'VE SETTLED ON RAZZ, AS IN RASPBERRY. WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

The second smallest skeleton in the Underground wasn't even aware how scared he was until Papyrus shrugged. Then a trainload of relief got dumped on his head. "sounds cool to me, bro. the name's about _razz_ good _razz_ it gets."

Razz glared at his brother. Really, puns? at a time like this?

Papyrus chuckled. "heh, yeah. no, but seriously, i don't see a problem with it, s- razz. i know it'll take a while to get everyone on board… say. how would you feel if i changed my name, too? then you could say you changed your name when i did and not have to tell people why. i don't want anyone to deliberately try and trigger you because they're an asshole."

Surprise, respect, and pleasure came flooding down the bond Razz shared with Blue. He could feel it matched in his own face. "THANK YOU, BROTHER. THAT… WOULD BE APPRECIATED. WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON CALLING YOURSELF?"

Blue cleared his throat. "you could call yourself breaks. you know, like-"

He stopped when Papyrus burst into laughter. He doubled over with his arms wrapped around his lanky torso. Eventually he ended up sitting on the stairs. When he caught his breath, he said, "like what i wanted to name you? thanks, but no. i think i'll go for my old nickname. muffler used to call me slim, cause i got so tall way faster than i got wide. hell, i'm still a beansprout. i already answer to it, so why not go with that?"

"It's true," Razz spun again to see Muffet, who was standing in the front door. "He's always been the tall and thin type. Razz and Slim both have nice rings to them. I'll send out a message so as few people have to be directly told as possible."

Another boatload of relief filled Razz's soul. He had not been looking forward to facing this same conversation hundreds of times over. It felt nice to know he wouldn't have to. "THANK YOU, MUFFET. THAT MEANS A LOT."

Her face softened. "You're welcome, Razz. Now, I need to steal your new soulmate. You can come if you want, too. We're going to dismantle those awful dresses of the Queen's and make something new out of them. Maybe a wall quilt? Anything is better than rotting away and never being worn."

* * *

This time Slim was much closer when his phone's alarm went off. He was actually sitting at his sentry station. The alarm was connected to the cameras he had placed along the path into Snowdin, so that meant something had triggered them. He pulled up the app he had built and stared at the image it had captured. A thrill shot through him as he realized what it was. It was a human.

Slim jumped up and ran towards the Ruins door. He didn't get far. The human had made it further this time. She was shorter than the last one, with paler skin and golden hair. She was wearing a very pretty blue dress that was stained with mud. It looked like something a princess might wear., with ruffles, puffy sleeves, and a long train. The bottom was ripped enough that Slim could see her shoes - or, rather, her lack thereof. Muddy feet with a few bleeding cuts peeked out. When she saw him she stopped and waved. "Hello, monster! My name is Patience. What is yours?"

Slim stopped moving, a little bit shocked at the friendliness. "i'm, uh, papy- no. i'm slim now. slim."

Patience tilted her head curiously. "Did you just change your name, Slim?"

Slim nodded slowly. He might as well tell her. It was good practice for talking with everyone else. "i did. my brother… had some really bad things happen to him, and his name turned out to be a trigger for the bad memories, so he changed his name to razz. i decided to change my name to make him feel like he wasn't alone. that was this morning."

The human smiled at him. "It'll get better, I promise. I used to have a different name that hurt to hear, but the nice monster behind the door said I could change it. Now my name is Patience! He helped me get used to it, and now I am!"

Slim gulped. So she did know the monster behind the door. "if… if you were happy living with him, why'd you come out here? you're… not going to last for very long."

"I know," Patience said with a smile. Seriously. A smile. What was with this kid? "That's why I'm here. I didn't know about you monsters, but the man behind the door told me how long you've been down here. You've been waiting patiently for so long to be free, and… I have no one waiting for me up there. I might as well help you achieve your goal, right?"

Slim summoned his weapon, sadness in his heart. Patience seemed like a cool kid. He wished he could get to know them more, but… he didn't want to make Razz wait. "well… i guess i just have to say thanks, then, patience."

Patience knelt down on the snowy ground with her hands in her lap. "You're welcome, Slim. I hope you and your brother really get to enjoy seeing the stars."


	19. Chapter 19 - Messages and Clothes

Blue definitely wasn't expecting to wake up like this. Yeah, he and Razz had been sharing a room, but they weren't to the point of sharing a bed yet. Razz was still nervous about being touched, and both of them had night terrors after everything they'd been through. Maybe it was one of those that had inspired this. It didn't really matter why. All that mattered to Blue was how the heck he was going to get out from underneath the sprawled body of his soulmate. It wasn't anywhere near comfortable, not with his chest still so raw. But Blue knew the rules. If someone falls asleep on top of you, whether they're a friend, a lover, a family member, or a pet, then you can't wake them up just because you wanted to move. So Blue was trapped here, under Razz, until he woke up.

Some unknown amount of time passed. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. Blue had no idea. Eventually, though, Razz yawned, stretched, and sat up. Unfortunately, he was still sitting on Blue, so no freedom yet.

Razz smacked his lips and looked around. He must have sensed something wrong. It was probably just that he was waking up somewhere other than where he had fallen asleep. Whatever it was, he stiffened. Blue, quick to reassure him, said, "hey, razz. what's up? besides you, that is?"

His soulmate looked down and blinked at him. Then a hand smacked his forehead and he groaned. "PLEASE, NO WORDPLAY BEFORE BREAKFAST. I'M SIMPLY NOT PREPARED FOR IT."

Blue couldn't help the cheeky grin that spread like warm butter across his face. "what, the magnificent and terrible razz isn't ready to handle a measly little pun first thing in the morning? i'm shocked. i thought you said yesterday that you were always vigilant against crimes against the sanctity of the spoken word. always would imply first thing in the morning, too. or is there some special definition of 'always' here that i'm not jibing with?"

Purple stars were eclipsed by narrowing eye sockets. "THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I INSTITUTED THIS RULE. I AM EVER VIGILANT ABOUT THIS. I'M JUST NOT CAPABLE OF A DECENT REPLY UNTIL AFTER I'VE EATEN. ALSO, PLEASE NEVER UTTER THE WORD 'JIBING' AGAIN UNLESS WE ARE ON A SAILING VESSEL. IT MAKES MY SOUL SHUDDER."

Blue's smile spread even wider. "sure thing, razz. i'll just make a note of that in my ever increasing lexicon of word uses i don't know. what does j… that action have to do with a sailboat?"

Razz grinned back, pride and smugness radiating down their bond. He seemed to love it when he knew something that Blue didn't, so Blue now took every opportunity to let him show off. "TO JIBE, OR TO GYBE AS IT IS ALSO SPELLED, MEANS TO CHANGE YOUR SAIL ANGLE AND HEADING WITH THE WIND DOWNWIND. DO YOU WANT ME TO DRAW YOU A DIAGRAM?"

"yeah, why don't you do that," Blue said, always eager for new knowledge. "but first can you get off my chest? it kinda hurts to have you on top of the bandages."

Razz clamored off of him, blushing. "OF COURSE! LET ME GO GET A NOTEBOOK WHILE YOU GET DRESSED. ACTUALLY, DON'T. MUFFET MENTIONED THAT YOU NEEDED SOME NEW CLOTHES. YOU ARRIVED… NEARLY TWO WEEKS AGO? WOWIE, IT CERTAINLY FEELS LIKE LONGER THAN THAT. EITHER WAY, WE SHOULD GET YOU SOMETHING NICER THAN THOSE RAGS YOU'RE WEARING."

Blue looked down at his clothes. "i thought they looked pretty nice…" Then he took in the holes, stains, and fraying hems. "at least, they used to. stars, when was the last time i had new clothes? it feels like forever ago."

"IT PROBABLY WAS," Razz said tactlessly. "IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE YOU CAME HERE, AND ALMOST CERTAINLY BEFORE THAT HUMAN OF YOURS FELL DOWN."

He winced. "true. well, come on, then. let's at least get some breakfast before she subjects me to her measuring tape. and you can draw me that diagram. i really do want to know about this 'gybing' business."

Razz grinned. "DEAL."

* * *

The third human made it significantly farther than the last two had. Slim was sure that he would need to recheck his cameras. Something must have gone wrong with them for him not to be alerted until the human reached the long bridge. Then again, that was why he had so many of them. No matter how many failed, there would always be another one to catch the human in the act of moving through the Underground.

Slim shortcutted in behind the human. The first thing he noticed was his hair. It was a bright orange. Then he noticed how pale his skin was. Neither of those things meant much to him other than the fact that he had never seen them before. He was sure they would mean something to another human, though, just like the colour of another monster's soul told him something about them. He wondered whether humans knew about soul traits. Surely they had to notice that people didn't all behave the same? Maybe that just didn't matter as much to them as it did to a monster. To him, the colour of a monster's soul was a huge indicator of how he needed to act around them. Then again, he didn't go around dragging out people's souls just to see what colour they were. It used to be because he didn't care. Now it was because it was rude.

He wasn't sure what alerted the human to his presence, but something did. He spun around to face Slim. That was when Slim noticed the freckles. There were so many freckles. So many.

"Monster! What's your name?" The human shouted.

"slim," he answered simply.

The human grinned. "I'm Sean, and I'm on a quest! Are you prepared to help me with it?"

Slim shrugged. "depends on the quest. i'm kind of on one of my own, and if there's a conflict of interest i'm going to go with mine. sorry."

"Don't be sorry!" Sean insisted. "That's just the nature of a quest! Now, my quest is to find the voice behind the door. I have a message for the monster that chats with my friend, who I promised I wouldn't name! I'm prepared to fight any number of monsters in order to complete my quest! Can you help me, or do I need to fight you, too?"

"heh, kid, you don't want to fight me. i'm pretty sure that i'm the monster you're looking for. i've been telling knock knock jokes with a voice on the other side of the big door for years," Slim said with a grin.

Sean narrowed his eyes. "Why? You have to tell me because the other monster told me what you're supposed to say."

Suspicion. Slim admired that in a monster. He wished he didn't have to admire it in a human. "i do it so i can perfect my most annoying jokes to use on my brother. he hates puns, deeply, and i love getting to see his face when i deliver a whopper. you could say it's a _san…_ actually, never mind the pun. it's funny."

Sean smiled and shot him a thumbs up. "You got it right! Okay, here's your message: I heard about the revolution. Next time you have time, come tell me about it, please."

Slim froze. How… how had he heard about that? As far as Slim knew, he was the only person this guy behind the door ever talked to. Why did he care? He lived behind the door. What did the world on this side of it matter to him? "th-thanks, bud. now, uh… do you know what's coming next?"

Sean nodded. "I'm going to get to see my dad again. It's okay, Slim. I knew what was going to happen when I left the man behind the door. He's got a bunch of us living there, but he only sends through the ones who are ready to die. My dad… my dad was killed by a mountain lion. He was trying to save me from dying. I wanted to fight it, but… I fell down a hole and ended up here. I want to be with my dad again. I'm not afraid to die. Besides, helping an imprisoned species to escape to freedom is badass!"

"heh, you're not wrong there, kid. are you sure you're ready to die?" Slim needed to hear it confirmed one last time.

"Yep!" Sean said, sitting down on the edge of the bridge. "Just try to make it fast. I don't really want to bleed to death. That's… how my dad died. It looked like it really hurt. Not that I'm afraid of pain! I just don't want it to be the last thing I feel."

Slim summoned his weapon. It's citrine fire rose like smoke from the glaive's blade. "i can help you with that. now, do you have any last words?"

The human considered. "Death to all tyrants?"

Slim chuckled. "you can't get more badass than that. okay. close your eyes." The human did, and Slim swung his blade. Just like he had promised, there was no pain. An orange soul floated into the air, and Slim captured it in the vacuum tube. "heh. three down, four to go."

* * *

Blue stared at the latest sketch Muffet had produced for him. "no. i'm not wearing that."

"Oh, please, Blue! This design is all the rage amongst the upper crust! They love these bouffant sleeves at the moment, and the asymmetrical hemline would be absolutely darling on you!" Muffet wheedled.

"i'm not wearing a dress, muffet, no matter how good you think it would look on me! i'm not a girl, and i really don't like it when people think i am!" Blue shouted back.

"So you have worn one, then," Muffet said smugly. He hated that smug expression. This wasn't some kind of gotcha game where the winner was the one who got the most information out of the other. This was way more serious than that! This was a matter of what he was going to wear, and he took what he wore very seriously! … Okay, no, that was a lie. He liked to put as little energy into his appearance as possible. And yeah, he got that right now that reflected badly on her, but that didn't mean he could be convinced to wear a dress!

"yes, muffet, i've worn a dress before. i was a curious kid. i wanted to know what one felt like. i didn't like it. everyone acted like i was a different person that had to obey different rules and i hated it. so, no dress, and that's final." He meant it, too. He wasn't going to budge on this one.

"I suppose that's fair," Muffet said with a sigh, "Not everyone is up to bending the laws of gender expression. That's a shame. Well, then, how about this?" Muffet held up her latest sketch. Blue studied it.

He could see that the top would be roomy on him, which was something they had negotiated earlier. He hated tight clothing. The sleeves were three quarter length and would fall just beyond his elbows. The sleeve was a notched turnback hem, although he probably wouldn't turn it back. The hem of the shirt was the same length all the way around, which he liked. The neck was a shallow v neck, the kind that was used on sweaters and had reinforced stitching. The pants only had the words "classic blue jeans" written on them. He could dig that. There was only one thing about this set up that he didn't like.

"i need a hood, muffet. it's a thing for me, hoods. they're safe."

Muffet eyed him thoughtfully. "I think I can accommodate that. A hood would definitely change the lines, but I think it would work better on you. Here," She grabbed the sketch, erased the neckline, and sketched in a simple hood. "Does this look better?"

Blue slowly nodded. "looks good to me. what kind of material were you thinking about using?"

"Dearie, were you really thinking I was only going to make you one copy? You need at least three changes of clothes, and I also want to make you a set of formal wear and pajamas. I'll sketch those up in a minute. For now why don't you go pick out the fabrics that appeal to you the most? Go for at least three. You know what textures work best for you."

Blue nodded amiably. He ambled over to the cabinet and started going through the choices. Eventually he settled on a plain steely blue, medium-weight, soft knit fabric, a soft, navy blue swirled, lightweight cotton, and a thicker flannel with a pretty blue, black, and purple check pattern. Those seemed like good options to him. They would cover the range of temperatures that could be found in the Underground, and the textures and colours all appealed to him. He brought the bolts back for Muffet to inspect.

She nodded absently. "Those look nice, dearie. How do these designs work?"

The first design was obviously the formal one. It was a three piece suit over a button up and tie. He reluctantly resigned himself to an outfit without a hood. They just weren't what you wore in a formal setting. The second outfit was a short-sleeved caftan with a reinforced neckline and simple geometric embroidery sketched out. It looked comfy, and, with only one piece, was definitely lazy enough for him. For a moment he considered protesting something so close to a dress, but decided against it. Besides, the design was very obviously masculine, and he wouldn't be wearing it around anyone who didn't know him well.

"they work for me, muff. do you want me to pick fabrics for them, too?" He asked.

It was Muffet's turn to nod. "Go ahead, I'll get started on the full patterns."

Blue set out and found another set of fabrics for the clothes. The suit itself would be in a slick grey. The button up would be white, and the tie would be a bright blue to match his magic. The caftan fabric he picked was a nice linen done up in a light purple and blue tye-dye. He picked the softest fabric he could that would still work for the design, and the tye-dye appealed to his inner kid.

When he showed the fabrics to Muffet she nodded approvingly. "Those work nicely. Now, why don't you pick a fabric and start cutting?"

He saluted jovially. "yes ma'am. right away ma'am."

Muffet's eight eyes were twinkling when she said back to him, "Good work, soldier. I expect you to do as good a job as you did on the former Queen's dress."

"you got it!" With that, Blue grabbed a bolt of fabric and got to work.


	20. Chapter 20 - Love

Blue just couldn't get over how weird it felt to put on clothes that weren't his battered hoodie, t-shirt, and shorts. Those were now languishing in the rags pile. It was a little sad to see them go, but not by much. He felt so different from the monster that had worn those clothes, and having his new threads to put on felt… nice. Appropriate. Good. His new clothes were just reaching that stage of wear where they didn't crinkle anymore. He'd had them for a few days now. He liked the way they felt.

The clothes weren't the only thing he liked the feel of. He had been working with Razz on a lot of things; his touch-sensitivity, his vocabulary around emotions and caring, his skill in trusting others, and his ability to relax - all of them were improving by the day. Blue was so proud of him.

He was coming to love the simple things about Razz. Things like his dry humour, which, while so different from Blue's own puns, still made him laugh every time. Things like his mischievous nature, which Blue was more than happy to aid and abet. Things like his taste in food and drink. Razz had an excellent palette, and he loved having Blue to experiment on. Blue had never eaten so well in his life. Things like his smile, which had such an amazing range for so simple an expression. Things like his warmth, which Razz was now happy to share with him. It was surprising and comforting in a way that he, with his natural cold, couldn't help but appreciate.

Blue was also coming to love the feelings he got from his soulmate. They were growing stronger by the day as their bond settled in and grew. Razz might not laugh at Blue's puns, but he could feel his mirth. The rush of confidence when they pulled off a prank was addictive. Every meal that Blue loved created pride. Blue loved the little spark of happiness when Razz saw him smiling for real. And he loved that contented purr when Blue cooled him down.

All of this loving had Blue yearning for something special. It had been weeks since they had become soulmates, and they still hadn't kissed. Blue wanted to know what that would feel like to press their teeth together. He couldn't remember ever having kissed someone before, and Razz seemed perfect to try with.

So when Razz and he found a secluded place in the woods to themselves, Blue tapped his soulmate on the shoulder. "razz, i, um, wanted to ask you something. and you can say no! you can always say no to me. you know that, right?"

Razz chuckled. Blue could feel his amusement. "YES, BLUE, I KNOW. WHAT IS IT YOU WANTED TO ASK ME?"

Blue gulped and put himself out there. "could we… maybe kiss?"

Razz blinked at him in clear confusion. His head slowly tilted to one side. Then he smiled his happiest smile. "WE HAVEN'T YET, HAVE WE? THAT IS CERTAINLY A SITUATION IN NEED OF A REMEDY. FORTUNATELY I, THE MAGNIFICENT AND TERRIBLE RAZZ, HAVE A PLAN. DO YOU WISH TO HEAR IT?"

It was Blue's turn to chuckle. Razz had shared with him his favorite books from the Surface the other day. They were by an author called Steven Brust, and were written in the voice of a creature called Paarfi. Blue knew what the appropriate response to that question was by now. "i believe i have been asking for nothing else for half an hour!"

"HERE IT IS, THEN," Razz answered with a twinkle in his eye, "WE SHOULD KISS."

Blue smiled back at his soulmate, loving him all the more. "okay, then. um… i don't know how to kiss you."

"AH. IT ISN'T THAT COMPLICATED," Razz explained kindly, "WE JUST PRESS OUR TEETH TOGETHER FOR A START. THEN WE LET OUR LIPS FORM, AND MAYBE OUR TONGUES LATER ON. FOR NOW, WE JUST DO THE TEETH AND LIPS. YOU CAN DO THAT MUCH, CORRECT?"

Blue nodded. He concentrated, forming the soft lips that he used normally when he wanted to use a straw. Razz did the same. Then they leaned toward each other, Blue closed his eyes, and… nothing happened. He opened them again. Razz was gone. He looked around frantically, panic filling his soul so much faster that it rightly should. Nothing. There were just trees and snow as far as his eye lights could see. Then-

"SANS!" Blue winced. Who would dare to say that name, now? "SANS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? DR. ALPHYS SAYS THAT YOU SHOULD BE SOMEWHERE IN THESE WOODS! ARE YOU THERE?" Blue recognized that voice. It sounded like Slim's, but higher in pitch and less rough. It was- "SANS, BROTHER, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"pap?" Blue said, voice breaking, "is that you?"

"SANS! I CAN BARELY HEAR YOU! CAN YOU SPEAK LOUDER?" His brother called out. Blue would recognize that voice anywhere. It was his brother.

"i'm here, pap! i-" Blue called out as loud as he could. He was interrupted by the approaching sounds of a large monster crashing through the thick snow. He waved frantically. "i'm here, papyrus! i'm here!"

Then he saw him. Through the trees, running without any regard for his clothes and personal safety, was Papyrus, Blue's brother. He was dressed in his battle body, which, apart from the few tears that still had twigs in them, was only marred by a slight singeing all over. His boots were muddy. For some reason, that's what Blue fixed on. There was actual mud splattered on his brother's boots, and it was in a pattern that he did not recognize. On the one hand he was glad he didn't, because that would be too much. On the other hand…

"papyrus? i thought you were dead? what-" His words were drowned out and bowled over by the tight hug he was catapulted into. Blue winced. His chest burned like crazy at all the unexpected friction.

"SANS! OH, SANS, I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR WEEKS!" Papyrus said, squeezing him tightly.

"i-" Blue tried to answer.

Papyrus interrupted him. "-AND YOUR CLOTHES! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HOODIE? NOT THAT THESE ARE UGLY. FAR FROM IT! BUT THEY LOOK SO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I SAW YOU WEARING LAST, BROTHER."

"they-" Blue tried to answer once again.

Again, his brother interrupted him. "WHY DOES YOUR CHEST FEEL SO LUMPY? IT FEELS LIKE YOU'RE WEARING AN OLD, LUMPY DOWN BLANKET UNDER YOUR CLOTHES, SA-"

It was Blue's turn to interrupt him. "stop calling me that! let me answer your questions! breathe!" Papyrus' mouth gaped open. Blue took that opportunity to speak. "my name is blue now, got it? not sans, blue. i've been… somewhere else. another universe, i think. one with copies of me and you who are probably worried sick that i'm gone. their names are razz and slim. they and their muffet have been taking care of me. my clothes got pretty ratty, so their muffet, who runs a clothes shop, insisted on making me some new clothes. i helped. and, my chest-"

"Hey Paps! Did you find him?" A voice called out that had Blue shivering and looking around desperately for a place to hide. It was the Empress, and she was going to kill him, he just knew it. But, when she came into the clearing, she looked… different: softer, kinder, and much, much happier. "Hey! One of you should answer when we call out for you!"

Blue swallowed. "um… hi, undyne."

Her smile showed altogether too many teeth. "Hey, nerd! Where have you been, exactly? Paps here has been worried sick. He got the whole Underground to help in searching for you!"

Blue gulped. But… he thought they'd been dead… "the whole underground, huh? that's, um, that's a lot of people. are they all gonna want to know this stuff? because my voice is definitely going to run out before i can tell everyone individually."

Undyne frowned and Blue winced. Now she really was going to hurt him. "You've got a point. How's this: you can make an Undernet post about it when you get home. Sound good?"

Blue blinked. She… didn't try to hurt him? But he was sure she had done so before. What had changed? Why was everything so different? "yeah… okay. i'll do that. now, uh… can we go home, bro? i've got some questions for you, and i'm sure you've got questions for me."

Papyrus smiled brightly and nodded, picking him up like a football and lunging through the wood. "OF COURSE, BROTHER! I WILL GET YOU HOME IMMEDIATELY!"

One terrifying ride with trees zipping by his face with less than an inch to spare later, Blue found himself set down on the couch. Papyrus sat next to him. He was picking at the seams on his gloves in obvious stress. Blue reached out and soothed them. "it's okay, bro. i'm here. i'm back. i'm okay."

Papyrus wailed, "BUT YOU'RE BLEEDING, SA- BLUE! AND YOU'VE CHANGED! NOT JUST YOUR NAME, BUT EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU IS DIFFERENT! YOU EVEN SMELL DIFFERENT. MORE… FRUITY?"

Blue chuckled. "that's what i had for breakfast, pap. razz made this great peach cobbler last night and we were finishing it up."

"OH," Papyrus said dubiously, "THAT SOUNDS… NICE. IS THIS RAZZ A NICE PERSON?"

Blue smiled wide. "he's great, bro! he's snarky and confident and such a prankster. i love him so much, i-"

Papyrus' eyes bugged out. "YOU LOVE HIM?! SANS, DID I JUST HEAR YOU SAY WHAT I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY? OR DID WHAT I HEARD YOU SAY ACTUALLY SOUND DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY?"

"yeah, pap, you did. razz and i are soulmates, although… we still haven't kissed. a lot has happened in the last few weeks. why don't i tell you about it from the beginning. it all started when…"


	21. Chapter 21 - Longing

Blue knocked on the door to the Lab and waited impatiently for Alphys to open it. He needed to talk with her, and he couldn't do that until she opened this stupid door, because she had set up a stupid teleport block in the Lab, which meant he had to walk in, which meant he had to bring Papyrus. His brother was practically glued to him now, and while it was nice to see him again, being constantly surrounded by him was starting to get old. Blue wondered how it would feel after more than the day he had been back had passed.

The door to the Lab rescued him from his thoughts by sliding open. Alphys was standing there in all her awkward glory. Her lab coat was buttoned wrong, the buttons off by one hole. The circles under her eyes said that she hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep lately. Blue felt guilty for about a minute before he remembered that Alphys always looked like that. Her claws were fidgeting nervously and she looked ready to bolt.

"Sans, what- wait, sorry. Um, it's Blue now, right? I read your Undernet post, I did! I have a few questions, though."

Blue smiled at her and said, "i figured you would. i have a few for you, too. like, how did you bring me back here, and can it be reverse engineered to do something else? i need to get my soulmate back, but i don't want to lose you guys. i've got a plan, but i need your help to make it work. please?"

Alphys stood up straighter. He knew she would. She really needed the confidence that came from being able to help someone with something only she could do. He hoped this would help her. He missed his lab buddy and anime friend.

"I-I-I can do that. First, though, I've got a few questions for you. Like, why is your chest covered in bandages? I know what that looks like, so don't try to lie," Alphys said with narrowed eyes.

Blue winced. He had really hoped that no one would notice that. Now Alphys and Papyrus were both staring at him like he was on the witness block. He chuckled nervously and said, "um… it's kind of a long story? the former queen there did a lot of bad things, including carving a spell into my soulmate's chest that bound him to her? then she got mad when he didn't want to tell her about me and tortured him. we busted him out, but we needed to deal with that seal or else it would have killed him. the only way to do that was to bind him to someone else, so i volunteered, but i didn't want it to be one way, so they carved the same seal into my chest to bind me to him? but i volunteered for it!"

Alphys looked shocked. Blue knew she could fill in the details. She knew a lot more about that kind of sealing magic than Papyrus did… at least, Blue hoped she did. Papyrus' angry expression indicated that he knew more than Blue had thought.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS SOONER, SA- BLUE? I'M SURE WE SHOULD HAVE CHANGED THE BANDAGES ON IT!"

Blue gulped and said, honestly, "i didn't want to worry you, bro."

"That's not really fair to him, Blue. He's been worried sick about you for weeks! You've been gone ever since the human came through, and-" Alphys admonished him, but he interrupted her.

"a human? there was a human who came through here? no one said anything about a human!"

Both Papyrus and Alphys winced. Papyrus said, "I KNOW YOU SAID THAT THE HUMAN WHO CAME THROUGH BEFORE KILLED PEOPLE, BUT THIS ONE WAS NICE! THEY EVEN MADE FRIENDS WITH UNDYNE! THEY SAID THEY WOULD SEARCH THE FOREST FOR YOU! NO ONE HAS SEEN THEM SINCE THEN."

Blue shivered, thinking of what had happened to his brother last time around. "tell me if you see them again, okay? just because they were nice before doesn't mean they always would be."

Papyrus nodded. "I WILL, BROTHER. NOW, PLEASE, ANSWER ALPHYS' QUESTIONS."

Blue turned to her, and she gulped. "Um… how long were you there for? Was it the same amount of time that you were gone from here?"

"dunno," Blue said with a shrug, his body still tense with the worry he had for the human, "i was unconscious for some of it, and i didn't really keep count of how long i was there. it felt like a while, though. definitely in the range of weeks. how long was i gone here?"

"3 MONTHS, 2 WEEKS, 4 DAYS, 7 HOURS, AND 15 MINUTES. I WAS TOLD I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO KEEP TRACK OF THE SECONDS, BUT IT WAS 13."

Blue felt his mouth drop open in shock. That was nearly four months! "that's… that's a lot, bro. no wonder you were so worried. i thought when you said weeks that it was, like, two, maybe three max. i didn't realize it was months."

"DON'T FORGET THE 13 SECONDS!" Papyrus chastised him.

Blue smiled. That was Papyrus, alright. His brother had an amazing memory for and attention to details, he just didn't always want to show it. "i won't, bro. i won't." Then he turned to Alphys. "do you have anymore questions, alph?"

Alphys nodded and pulled out her phone. When he saw that, Blue winced. Alphys only wrote stuff down when she had a lot. "Okay, um-"

"why don't you just text me the list, alphys? it's not in your handwriting, right? then-" He asked.

She glared at him. "-you should be able to read it? very funny, Sa- Blue. I'll have you know I've been working on that."

Blue grinned. "aww, you're making it worse? how thoughtful of you, alph. your handwriting has been horrible for as long as i have known you. heck, it was even horrible in the other universe! of course, her hands were scarred, so she had an excuse."

"WOWIE, THAT WAS REMARKABLY RUDE, EVEN FOR YOU, BROTH- WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING, DR. ALPHYS?" Papyrus asked suspiciously.

"It's an inside joke, Papyrus, from when we were younger," Alphys explained, "One I had almost forgotten about. It's not really as mean as it sounds. Why don't you get Blue to explain it to you back at your house? I'll, um, text him about my questions. His jokes work better written down anyway."

"aww, i'm touched!" Blue said with a snigger, "you're finally coming around to liking them."

"I didn't say they were good, I just said they worked better. -11 and -10 are both still negative numbers, but one is closer to being positive than the other."

Papyrus nodded and picked Blue up very carefully. "ON THAT, AT LEAST, WE CAN AGREE. COME, BROTHER! LET US STOP INFLICTING YOUR HORRIBLE JOKES ON DR. ALPHYS AND GET YOU HOME! DON'T THINK YOU'VE GOTTEN OUT OF ME SEEING WHAT YOUR CHEST LOOKS LIKE. I'M SURE WE SHOULD HAVE CHANGED YOUR BANDAGES AT LEAST ONCE!"

Blue waved at Alphys as he was carried out the door. "see you later, alph! looking forward to reading your texts!"

With that, the door to the labs slid shut behind them and they made their shaky way home.

* * *

Razz was more than happy to kiss his soulmate for the first time. They had truly grown close, and, more than that, Razz wanted him. He wanted to know what his lips felt like. He wanted to know what Blue tasted like. He wanted to know so many things, and this kiss was the first step towards all of them. That didn't mean it wasn't a big step. So, when Blue didn't immediately kiss him, Razz charitably gave him more time. It sounded like this would be Blue's first kiss, and that was a big, scary thing. He could understand a little hesitation.

A little turned into a lot, but Razz was patient. He would stay here and wait for his soulmate to kiss him as long as it took.

What broke Razz out of his waiting was the flare of panic from his bond. He opened his eyes, reassuring words on his lips for the monster who… wasn't there? Razz felt his own panic enter the mix as he searched the area. The only footprints in the snow were theirs from when they came in. No footprints led out, so Blue hadn't walked out of here. Razz summoned his magic loosely in the clearing and concentrated. The lingering traces of magic that filled the clearing were incredibly powerful. They swirled unhappily like a pig screams, a vortex of evil he hoped he would never hear again. The other thing about the magic, the thing that really worried him, was that it didn't belong. It felt alien and unwelcome… and yet, familiar. It had a taste to it that reminded him of Blue.

Razz had a suspicion about that, but he wasn't going to act on it without more information. In order to get that information he needed help. He whipped out his phone and texted his brother urgently.

Anger swept through him, but it wasn't his. It belonged to Blue, and Razz was surprised at how strong it felt. It didn't last long, though. It was quickly swept aside by shock, longing, and growing excitement. Razz smiled. At least, wherever he was, Blue wasn't sad. That combination of emotions felt like what Razz often felt when he unexpectedly met someone he liked after a long time apart. Maybe… no. He wasn't going to speculate until he knew more.

"what's wrong, razz? i thought you and blue were going for a walk. where is he?"

Razz turned to his brother with growing worry in his eye sockets. Slim had teleported behind a tree, and he was looking around in confusion.

"THAT, BROTHER, IS THE PROBLEM. BLUE IS GONE. SOMETHING TOOK HIM JUST AS WE WERE ABOUT TO KISS, AND HE HAS BEEN PANICKED AND CONFUSED, AS HAVE I. THERE IS A STRANGE MAGIC IN THE AIR HERE AND I NEED YOUR HELP TO TRACE IT."

Slim stood up straighter and his magic filtered into the clearing like smoke from a fog machine. He whistled. "damn, that's powerful. i'll need to get some equipment. be right back."

Slim disappeared for only a few seconds. He came back with some kind of a machine in his hands. Razz couldn't even begin to fathom its purpose, but that was alright. Understanding weird machines was one of the things his brother was best at. This machine lit up with a series of seven different colours before finally settling on a light blue. Slim frowned at it, shook it a little, then turned to Razz with an expression of pity on his face. Razz already hated it. It had the air of something that wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

"razz… he's gone."

He glared at Slim. "YES, I KNOW THAT. I NEED YOU TO TELL ME WHERE HE IS."

Slim gulped. That was never a good sign, especially with the way he was edging his way closer to Razz with every second. "no, razz, i mean… he's gone, gone. like, there's no way i should be getting the kinds of readings i am with him still alive."

The glare that Razz directed at Slim was scorching. "HE'S ALIVE. I WOULD KNOW IF HE WERE DEAD. BESIDES, DEAD PEOPLE DON'T EMOTE. RIGHT NOW HE IS ECSTATIC."

Slim stopped inching forward and sighed. "fine, razz. don't believe the equipment. what do you want me to do, get the entire underground out to search for him? because they won't find him. he's not here."

"OF COURSE HE'S NOT HERE!" Razz almost shouted at his brother, "I THINK HE GOT KIDNAPPED BACK TO HIS HOME UNIVERSE! HE WAS SO STARTLED AND HAPPY, LIKE HE GOT TO SEE SOMEONE HE'S BEEN MISSING FOR A LONG TIME. I THINK HE GOT TO SEE HIS BROTHER AGAIN."

Slim blinked at him, then examined the data on his machine again. "that would explain some of these readings… actually, that makes more sense than him suddenly being dead."

Razz rolled his eyes. "OBVIOUSLY. NOW, CAN YOU WORK OUT A WAY FOR US TO GET HIM BACK? OR IS THERE ANY WAY FOR US TO CONTACT HIM OR SEE HIM? THEN WE COULD GET HIM TO WORK ON THIS, TOO."

Consideration crossed Slim's face. He stared at his machine, then nodded. "i think i could hack into his phone from here. would that work?"

Razz smiled. "THAT WOULD BE EXCELLENT."


	22. Chapter 22 - Phonecall

At first, Blue didn't even notice the phone ringing. He was way too immersed in working on the machine. He noticed it when Rus grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him away from his work, though. He immediately opened his mouth to protest. Rus was faster. "BROTHER, IF YOU DO NOT ANSWER YOUR PHONE IN THE NEXT THIRTEEN SECONDS I WILL TAKE YOU UPSTAIRS AND LOCK YOU IN YOUR ROOM UNTIL YOU DO."

Blue had never moved his hands so fast. He patted around his pockets to try and find the right one. Damned Muffler and her obsession with pockets. Then he found it, hiding in the pocket on the inside of his left breast - the fifth one he'd checked. He yanked it out of there and hit the answer button just in time. He didn't even have time to bring it to his ear before a familiar voice boomed out, "BLUE, I SINCERELY HOPE YOU HAVE A PLAN TO GET BACK HERE OR I, THE MAGNIFICENT AND HORRIBLE RAZZ, WILL HAVE TO BE STERN WITH YOU!"

Blue's face lit up. He couldn't believe it. "razz? is that really you?"

"OF COURSE IT'S ME! WHO ELSE WOULD BE CALLING YOU WITH A MESSAGE LIKE THAT?" Razz said. Blue could practically hear him rolling his eye lights.

Blue's eye lights slid sideways to stare at his brother, then looked back at the phone. He wanted to chuckle. "well, it could have been my brother, but since he's right here with me it'd be kinda silly of me to think it was him."

"YOUR BROTHER? I THOUGHT YOUR BROTHER WAS DEAD," Razz said, but his emotions didn't say that he was surprised. Blue grinned. His soulmate was so smart.

"nope. seems that there was some kind of a loop made in time? i dunno what to call it. a reset or a load, maybe? everyone who was dead seems to be back and worried about me. i, uh, was kinda gone here a long time. my brother kept track to the second. they looked everywhere for me. a human's even involved in the search. seems to be a nice kid, from what my brother's said. everyone was really freaked about the bandages, but i explained about them. i can't wait for you guys to meet them. i've been working on the machine a bit-"

"ALMOST NONSTOP," Rus interjected.

"-and i think i've got the math right to pull this off," Blue finished smugly.

Through the phone, the voice of Slim said, "pull what off?"

Blue smiled wider. His brother, the only one in this conversation who could see him, rolled his eye lights. Blue stuck his tongue out at his brother and answered the question. "i think i figured it out so we can merge the universes. that way we can combine the human souls we have and all reach the surface that much sooner!" Silence reigned for several minutes. Blue's grin slowly fell. He asked, "is there… something wrong with that?"

"well…" Slim said slowly, "that really depends on how you do it. also, how successfully we can keep people from trying to kill each other, but that's not my problem."

"OH, WHOSE IS IT THEN, MINE?" Razz said archly.

"i was thinking that would be alphys', bro. she's the one in charge right now, so it falls to reason that this is her problem," Slim said. Blue could hear the shrug in his voice, probably just because he knew what it sounded like in his brother and himself.

"WHY WOULD YOU PUT DR. ALPHYS IN CHARGE? SHE CAN HARDLY TAKE CARE OF HERSELF, LET ALONE ANYONE ELSE!" Rus said.

"ouch," Blue said with a grin.

Rus rolled his eyes, making Blue's grin grow even wider. "OH PLEASE, BROTHER, YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE, AND IT'S NOT LIKE SHE'S HERE."

"OUR ALPHYS IS.. WAS THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD. SHE IS USED TO TAKING CARE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE. I UNDERSTAND THAT SHE IS MUCH LIKE YOUR UNDYNE IN HER ROLE, IF SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT DUE TO THE CULTURE SHE GREW UP IN," Razz explained.

"AH, THAT WOULD EXPLAIN IT. I WOULD DEFINITELY TRUST UNDYNE TO TAKE CARE OF ME!" Rus said brightly.

Blue shuddered. "i wouldn't. sorry, bro, i know she's your best friend, but… personal experience, eh? she was the one who took charge after the human came through in the last timeline, and things… didn't exactly go well. then again. having you around might have helped her to keep sane. stars know it does for me."

Rus gave him a soft look that held more understanding in it that Blue thought he deserved. "I SUPPOSE IT WOULD, BROTHER. WELL, THEN, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING MIGHT BE THE PROBLEM WITH BLUE'S PLAN, OTHER ME?"

Slim coughed. "well, it's a bit technical, but i really want to know how he plans to combine them, because, um, there's so many ways this could go wrong. we could end up all splattered on each other, or stuck as some weird sort of siamese twins, or only one population but split between two undergrounds, or half of each population missing or dead, or randomly appearing all over the place, or-"

Blue cut him off before he went totally off the deep end. "i was planning on just connecting the door to that artifact room in both our worlds. nobody but the ghosts can get in there on your end or ours, right? no one can remember the combination."

"THE GHOSTS CAN'T GET EITHER," Two voices said in unison.

Blue blinked at the phone, then at his brother. Razz and Rus had been the ones to speak. "um… why?"

Rus shrugged. "I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THERE, BUT IT'S BEEN TRUE HERE EVER SINCE YOU WENT MISSING. DR. ALPHYS SAID IT WAS SOME KIND OF INTERFERENCE IN THE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF THE WALL, POSSIBLY AS A RESULT OF EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL OR EXTRA-NATURAL FORCES."

Blue grinned. "she just said some alien or god like from one of her animes made the wall weird."

Rus sighed. His face was so disappointed in his brother for pointing that out while they were still on the phone. "YES, YES SHE DID. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE HER SOUND MORE IMPRESSIVE TO THESE OTHER US-ES, BLUE."

Slim sniggered through the phone. "if she's anything like our dr. undyne, that's a monumental task, but i bet you can try a-brain."

The groan that Razz and Rus let out was almost identical. Blue knew there was fondness behind it, though. If Rus really hadn't liked his puns, he would have asked him to stop very firmly and clearly, and he bet that Razz would have done the same. They were just that cool.

"MOVING ON FROM THAT ANNOYING INTERLUDE, WILL BLUE'S PLAN TO CONNECT THOSE ROOMS SUFFICE, BROTHER?" Razz asked.

Slim laughed. Blue noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Rus was blushing. Interesting. He wasn't sure what to think about that. On the one hand, that was his little brother that he'd basically raised after Gaster had disappeared. On the other hand, he shipped it. Hard. "nyeh. yeah, bro, that'll be fine. i still wanna hear his math. wouldn't want to end up on the ceiling because he missed a negative sign somewhere. do you wanna go tell alphys so she can get prepping?'

"FINE. YOU HAVE FUN TALKING ABOUT YOUR MATH WITHOUT ME. MAYBE BLUE'S BROTHER CAN GO AND TALK TO HIS UNDYNE ABOUT THE SAME THING."

"I WILL!" Rus said, saluting. "SEE YOU LATER, BROTHER!"

"bye!" Blue said, waving goodbye to his brother. then he turned to the bench and grabbed his current set of notes. "okay, slim, i started this whole thing with the machine alphys used to drag me here. she used the weirdest combination of…"


End file.
